"Israeli Tanks Encircle a City in West Bank"
That was the front page article of the Washington Post morning paper five years ago today. Little did the paper, or any of us, know that our papers, websites, television stations and every other media outlet would be reporting on something completely different for days and weeks to come.
Little did we know…
- that millions would sit, fixated by the simple sight of three buildings on fire.
- that an entire city could become so fear-driven.
- that we would even see people jump to their deaths live on television.
- that people we didn’t even know, or consider famous, would become the center of our thoughts.
- how much our nation is hated by so many others.
This morning, I was intentionally a few minutes late for work. I stayed home and watched MSNBC until about 9 AM. That network replayed three hours of The Today Show from September 11, 2001, as they happened.
As someone who did not see anything from 9/11 live, I was thankful for the station’s doing so. I decided to make myself watch. I needed to be reminded of some things.
I needed to be reminded of the vast confusion of everyone, even the television reporters, as we all waited for any shred of news. I needed to be reminded of just how fast the response was by every level of government and law enforcement. I needed to be reminded of just how sickening that feeling of not knowing was.
It’s only been five years, but that’s long enough for us to look back and see how things have changed–or haven’t changed. Today I’m at work. Tonight, Lord willing, I’ll watch a little Monday Night Football. Lord willing, I’ll take some young people to a youth event at Freed-Hardeman this weekend. Life goes on. America, while it has her flaws, is still strong.
…and I’m thankful for her.
