19 Years Ago

Today is September 11th.

19 years ago today,

Our nation was attacked.

Four planes were hijacked.

Two crashed into the World Trade Center,

One in the Pentagon,

And one in the middle of the Pennsylvania woods.

It was a sad day.

Many lives were lost.

We must never forget those lives that were lost.

That was not all that was lost, however.

From that day onwards, we’ve been in perpetual warfare in the Middle East.

From drone strikes to on-the-ground operations,

Many people, civilians, soldiers, and combatants, alike, had lost their lives.

Countless lives had been lost since 9/11 across the world, and no one bats an eye.

It is sad to see,

But we must not forget the lives lost.

There’s a lot more that was lost since 9/11.

Tensions started to escalate all over the country.

From government to law enforcement to citizens to immigrants to even other countries,

Everyone started to distrust everyone.

What had briefly united Americans eventually drove us further apart,

And the wounds have not fully healed.

The effects from the response to 9/11 can be felt globally to this very day.

2020 marked the beginning of a new decade.

This year, on this very day, we have a choice moving forward.

If we truly want to make the world a better place,

It has to start with us.

Instead of fearing one another,

And viewing each other as enemies,

We need to look at each other as humans,

As neighbors,

As an extended family,

And we have to try to treat one another with empathy, compassion, and understanding.

That is how we can make this world a better place.