Up until a few days ago, I had completely forgotten that the 14th anniversary of 9/11 is today, and so had many of my friends.
That doesn”t make us bad people, but it is somewhat alarming. The attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 were among the most tragic and frightening events of our nation”s history, and not even 20 years later a lot of us have become desensitized to it when it comes time to reflect again.
Of course, that isn”t anyone”s fault. A lot of innocent people lost their lives, and the wounds haven”t healed, but now it is less difficult to bear remembering it.
The memories surrounding this tragedy aren”t as painful to many as they once were. However, that doesn”t give anyone the excuse to not take at least a moment to think about the people we lost and the impact the event had on our country.
Erin Bamer
Like many students enrolled at the University of Idaho right now, I don”t remember much of the attacks because I was very young. I was 6 years old, and all I remember from that day was my mother”s friend crying when we picked her kids up for school and my first grade teacher attempting to explain what had happened to my class without sending us into a panic. I was far too young to understand until a few years later.
My younger sisters were only a year old when it happened, and they”re now in the middle of high school. In only a few short years UI will be populated by students who weren”t even alive yet when 9/11 took place.
But just because a lot of us can”t clearly remember that day anymore doesn”t mean it didn”t happen or that it didn”t impact us in some way.
I”ve met plenty of people who were directly impacted by the events of 9/11, either because they lost a loved one because of it or they were nearby one of the sites of the attacks. Whatever their reason, these people probably still struggle through the anniversaries this year.
Even if your situation isn”t as difficult, 9/11 has impacted all of us, at least indirectly. It made enough of an impact to warrant recognition, especially during its anniversary.
Yes, on Sept. 11, 2001 nearly 3,000 innocent lives were stolen from us, but 9/11 is also a chance to reflect on the bravery of our nation”s people and the strength we displayed in the aftermath of the attacks.
Instead of hiding from the imminent danger, firefighters and law enforcement officers ran toward it, many of them sacrificing their own lives in the process. They didn”t do it for the praise and glory they received later, they did it because they wanted to save the people who could be saved because it was the right thing to do.
If anything else, take a second to reflect on this today – the worst thing we can do is forget about 9/11 entirely.
Erin Bamer can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ErinBamer