Understanding 9/11 now that time has passed

Some people in this country and around the world feel that 9/11 is over with and that Americans should move on. They think we should not dwell on it so much. This view is very dangerous and will lead to another attack. If we forget about that day and let our guard down, then those 3,000 people died for nothing. I want everyone to take a second and think of those horrific scenes. Remember those planes attacking our homeland. See those innocent people jump to their deaths to escape the dreadful fires. Relive those images over and over. Watch those towers fall and think of the ones you love. Your father, your sister, your cousin. And then remember that all of those people had thousands and thousands of people that loved them too. Like you love. Thousands of broken hearts that will never be pieced together. And what makes it so tragic is the way and reason they were murdered.

I have heard many people ask since 9/11: What did we do to the terrorists? Some people believe that we are bullies and that we have in fact done something to these terrorists to make them angry. These ideas show nothing but pure ignorance. I ask you: what did we do to them? Have we taken their livelihood? Have we conquered and colonized their land like every superpower before us? The answer: NO! As far as I can remember we have promoted freedom and democracy. We have saved a country from brutal conquest. We have liberated an entire people. We even helped Afghanistan fight off the invading Soviets. So why do these terrorists hate us? They hate our way of life; the fast food we eat, the blue jeans we wear, the music we listen to, and the ideals we teach. Ideals such as tolerance of other religions, freedom, democracy, and equal rights for women. They believe that everyone who is not a part of their radical ideology is an “enemy of Islam” and therefore, must be killed. Now I ask you, how can we rationalize with that? We cannot rationalize with people who are not rational. We cannot appeal to their sense of logic because they are not logical. They have developed a movement that is based on hate and evil deeds and Americans must understand this. In order to win this crucial war (and ladies and gentleman this is a full scale war) we must understand our enemy. There is no place for this degree of hatred and intolerance in the civilized world. Especially when we are paying the price with the blood of the innocent.

So when you think of those bright New York skies turning black as night, those firefighters running up stairs only to meet their deaths, and those children that will never know their fathers, you remember why. It was because of brutal hatred and baseless intolerance unlike most of us can even imagine.

David Abroms can be contacted at DAbroms710@aol.com.