I took a position leaning on a tree, away from the crowd. The wind was strong this evening, and everyone used their hands to cover the glowing light of their candles. The candles were for remembrance. The low tone of the men’s choir gave a saddening discourse to the evening. The crowd came from all walks of life. There were no opinions to be said or argued. You were there to remember.
As I meandered home from this ceremony, I thought back on this day six years ago. I was a young freshman in high school, dozing off in my history class. The principal came on the PA and awoke me from my dreams. “The country has been attacked,” he said. When it happened, I didn’t know what to feel. I just knew that I would forever remember this day. It was a defining moment for this era and for the generation to come. As weeks went by, I remembered all the American flags hanging from houses, bumper stickers of American pride and a nation in mourning.
Sept. 11, 2001, changed the face of America and the world. With Sept. 11 came the threat of terrorism, an enemy with no face and no borders. As a country, we united with a strong patriotism. We united in this overwhelming sense of fear and became blind. We were blind as we declared war on a nation with no connection to Sept. 11. We were blind as we tortured innocent people in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. We were blind as they started wiretapping our own phone lines. We were sheep that followed the crowd. We became a nation that accepted everything. There was no criticism of our leaders. Why should there be? It was a time of crisis.
Six years have passed now. We are still in this same war, a war that has made a breeding ground of terrorism in Iraq. It is a war that has made an unstable Middle East into a platform for World War III. We are still holding innocent people in Guantanamo Bay – some have been there for years without a chance to speak with a lawyer or appear in front of a judge. We have a Democratic congress now that is too weak to stand up and demand a change. And, yet, we are all still in fear. In a Zogby International telephone poll, it was found 91 percent of Americans believe the United States will be attacked again on U.S. soil.
What has changed? We’re not any safer now than we were six years ago. How, as Americans, have we made this world a better place?We are still following leaders that have led us down the wrong road. Leaders that have made more of the world hate us. Where have our ideals gone? The ideals of freedom that made this country so wonderful to live in and be a part of. This is all gone. I ask myself, where are the protests? Where is the dissent?
I think back to the 1970s and Vietnam. If someone walked through campus, there would be protests for change everywhere. They wanted to make change through their own hands. Some may not have agreed, but the truth can be found through conflict and argument. They found the truth and made a name for their generation.
How are we going to be remembered as a generation? I walk around campus today, and all I see is people bobbing to their iPods or yapping on their cell phones. As if there isn’t a care in the world. People, brothers and sisters of our generation are dying, and it seems as if we just don’t care.
My readers, my fellow students and Americans, it is time for us to wake up. How do you want to be remembered as a generation? Are we going to be a generation that accepted the torture and mistreatment of thousands? Sept. 11 was six years ago. I will forever hold this day and the people who innocently died in my heart. But it is time for a change. For too long, we have let a blind fear take our freedoms away from us. I believe in an America that remembers, but moves on. I believe in a free America that helps the world grow. Let us bring back this country. Let us be a generation of change.
