|
Surprise
Attack
By Jeff Griffith
It
was a beautiful morning. The weather was sunny, in the 80s, with
a nice breeze coming off the water. Suddenly, America's innocence
was suspended by a shocking display of treachery that stunned us
all. The attackers gave us all the information we needed prior to
the event, but we still felt that it could never happen to us. Fingers
immediately pointed to our military officials and government higher-ups,
who should have seen the evidence. Instantly, all Americans rose
to the occasion, rushing to help the cause and looking to our leaders
to provide comfort and guidance. The President spoke to the nation
in a resolute manner that the evil-doers would be punished, and
Americans applauded tearfully from their homes praying for a swift
ending.
Ironically,
this was not September 11, 2001, but December 7, 1941—60
years ago. Ironic, isn't it, that we thought, once again, America
was invincible? We assumed we couldn't be touched or harmed on
our own soil—except this time, we all watched it happen right
before our very eyes on television. The WWII generation has spoken
about where they were on December 7, and similarly our generation
will tell where they were in September 2001. I was sleeping in
that day, but awoken by a call from my brother in Milwaukee, who
heard the news on the radio. After turning on the television set,
I raced upstairs to the roof and watched in silence as a mere
20 blocks south of my home, two immense structures came down as
if a part of a careful demolition. No one spoke on the roof, everyone
just gasped in stunned amazement and tried frantically to contact
their loved ones to find out their whereabouts with cell phones
that didn't work.
There
are no words to describe what I saw. My good friend Tracy lives
two blocks from Ground Zero and witnessed people jumping to their
deaths outside his window that morning while he rushed to pack
his belongings for an unplanned four-week stay at another friend's
apartment. We have yet to discuss the events in detail. Perhaps,
like the veterans who watched the USS Arizona sink in seconds
at Pearl Harbor or the Oklahoma "turtle" with hundreds
still alive inside, it will take him decades to detail the horror
he has seen.
It's
a sad irony we have to relive these terrible moments again and
again, but even sadder that we relive the mistakes of our past,
believing ourselves impervious to attack. Understanding history
teaches us not to repeat it. Many years from now, when your grandchildren
say, "that could never happen to us," do them a favor
and tell them where you were that warm September day in 2001.
Perhaps it will change their minds.
|
