I am usually not one to be easily disturbed by the violent images characteristic of daily news broadcasts. However, for obvious reasons this tragedy struck something inside of me that left me feeling numb for the last week. No matter how hard I tried, I could not rationalize these terrible actions or the extraordinarily painstaking loss of so many lives. How can someone, in this day and age, with all of our technology, hijack a plane in the United States and use the plane and its passengers as a makeshift bomb or projectile to destroy one of the most famous landmarks in our nation’s largest city? How could the same thing happen to four different aircraft in one day? What motivates a man, or group of men, to initiate a plan with the intention of wreaking havoc and ending as many lives as possible in the process? How is it possible for one of these planes to be deliberately flown directly into the nervous system of our nation’s military? What mindset allows one to justify ending so many lives, including their own, for the sole purpose of destroying thousands of others? Does God really exist? Tragedies like this often make one wonder. Do monsters really exist? Yes, they do.
The terrorists succeeded in their mission and accomplished a feat that has happened only a few times in the brief history of our nation: they stopped America dead in its tracks. We could only watch in horror as the tragic events unfolded before our eyes. Although they may have succeeded in their intentions, their victory is only a temporary one.
It is important to carry on with our everyday lives to show the monsters behind this that they did not win. We are not beaten. The longer we allow our nation to remain at a standstill, the longer they will feel the satisfaction of succeeding with their plans. The losses we have suffered are great; however, we must not allow these people to continue rejoicing in our pain.
We lost a tremendous number of lives, and we have witnessed unprecedented devastation on our own soil. The entire nation shares in the pain of the thousands who lost their loved ones. We set our differences aside and united to mourn the loss of our fellow Americans and have, in turn, rediscovered our pride in America and the ideas it represents. Like all of the people who endured the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the attack on Pearl Harbor, we will always remember where we were when we learned of the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Although these events can be described as nothing short of tragic, they have made us stronger. We will survive this because we are the strongest nation in the world; we are the strongest nation in the world because our nation is comprosed of the strongest people in the world. We are strong both in our beliefs and our unwillingness to give up. As a nation, we have stared tyranny in the face many times, and we win because our foundation is unshakeable.
We are a nation formed under God by victorious underdogs who stood for their beliefs. We are a nation that defends and promotes both freedom and democracy throughout the world. We are a young nation, rich in history and tradition, and it is from these things that we draw our pride.
Throughout history we have fought to defend the idealism that is America, and we will continue to do so. We will back down from no confrontation where liberty and democracy are threatened.
I never literally thought of the pride I feel for my country until these attacks took place. I saw how we, as Americans, responded to these events. I saw a kindness and bravery I had never seen before in the eyes of the rescue workers. I felt a sense of brotherhood among the people of our nation. I saw how willing we all were to do our part. I saw the support we offered for the families and victims of the tragedies, our president and our country. I thought of all the men and women who fought and died for the same freedom I took for granted so often. I considered the beliefs and ideas they so gladly defended. I thought of all the gifts we, as Americans, have inherited and taken for granted. I had always heard of the tremendous pride the people of our nation felt after the World Wars, and for the first time in my life, I could actually feel that pride. It is not the landmass we call America that we should take pride in. It is the people living on that landmass and those who wrote its history that make America a place we should all be proud to call home. The fact that we can all set aside our differences and come together to heal our wounded nation is amazing. The goodness and charity we are capable of offering to one another is touching. Because of all of these things, I am proud to be an American.
We owe it to ourselves and the victims of the terrorist attacks to maintain the unity we have shared as a nation in the last week. It makes no difference which religion, race or organization you belong to because we are all Americans. The possibility of what we can accomplish by refusing to allow our social barriers to divide us is ultimately promising. Now, as well as later, it is important for us to remain unified and supportive while displaying our strengths and good will.