There are so many events that have happened that cause us to pause and ask questions.
Where was I when that happened?
Who was I with?
How did it feel?
For some, it was the Kennedy assassination. For others, the end of a World War. Or the beginning of a new one. For many, the earthquake and tsunami will bring about the same questions.
Today, it is about 9.11.
I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news. It was not clear exactly what had happened, but as I sat in one of my first college classes and listened as my professor said the world trade center has been hit by an airplane I knew it wasn’t just another piece of daily news. I sat through that 45 minute class, having no idea the images I would see just a short while later would change me, and millions of other Americans, forever.
I walked to the school café at Luther College. Every pair of eyes was glued to the TV screen in complete awe, confusion and horror. Together, in a nearly speechless room, we watched as the first tower fell. Nothing about it seemed real from a TV screen in the Decorah, Iowa. My inexperienced 18-year-old self just could not comprehend how something like this could be happening in my lifetime. Still, there it was, happening right before me.
I didn’t have any family or friends in New York at the time. But still, to this day, whenever I meet someone who was there, who lost someone, or who has given their life to fight for our country as a result of such tragedy, I am taken back to that poignant moment in American history when it became clear to me that safety is relative. Some nations deal with tragedy on a daily basis. Some individuals live everyday feeling unsafe and unprotected. While others, me included, are able to live a life virtually scar free.
My hope is that on this, the 10th anniversary of 9.11, we all remember that we can help keep each other safe. We can keep each other safe from hate, from exclusion, from feeling completely alone. Some tragedies we cannot control, but there are many that we can by simply loving each other. After all, with so many bad things already happening around the world, do we really want to contribute to more?
