The day the world changed — 9/11
by Tom Chillemi
A decade after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the effects still linger and the memories are still vivid.
Southside Sentinel readers responded to our request for comments on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, and how the events of that day affected them and the world.
Atienza continued, “For a fleeting moment the anguished cries through the impenetrable fog of devastation of 9/11 brought back memories of that war. But like the past war, the morning after 9/11 was another day. The country found its mission and vision. We looked each other in the eye and felt a sense of purpose as we’ve never felt before. We trusted in each other. We took care of each other. We did everything a responsible citizenry ought to do.
“Now, 10 years later, we repeat the sins of our Biblical ancestors. We have gone back to our old self-indulgent ways. It is a sad and terrible thing that now, people wake up and live their daily lives obsessed about their rights and the government’s obligation to help them. ‘Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country,’ was a nice uplifting quote but that was it. We have forgotten what is essential to enjoying our rights and our freedoms, and that is responsibility—to ourselves, our family, our country,” said Atienza.
“Will it take another horrendous event, a war, or calamity to regain our bearings? Or will those old days be like A.E. Housman’s ‘The Land of Lost Content’—a happy highway where we went, and cannot come again.”
“That is the land of lost content,
I see it shining plain,
The happy highways where I went
And cannot come again.”
—A.E. Housman
“It is unusual for a small-town person like myself to have the privilege of serving the families of those who lost lives and those people who survived the 9/11 attacks,” she said.
Her perception of the world was changed by those attacks. “I used to think that only the major world powers were a threat to the U.S., but I have come to realize that small and even Third World countries can be a threat. The attacks of 9/11 taught me that being powerful does not protect you from those who would do evil acts. In fact, being powerful can make you a greater target. I grew up in Saluda and, therefore, found it hard to live in cities. After 9/11 I have another reason to avoid heavily-populated cities—they are magnets for terrorists.”
Despite the security added since 9/11, Pearson feels less safe. “I think we have done a really good job of increasing our sense of safety, our appearance of safety, but not our actual safety. The safety measures we have put in place are a pain to non-threatening citizens and a challenge to those who will do harm. But I do not kid myself, the terrorists embrace that challenge which motivates them to find ways around it. America gives out too much information and has too many ‘unknowns’ living within its borders,” she said.
Pearson said America should not be the world’s police force. “We have too much to correct in our own country. Let’s get it right here before we try to make it right somewhere else. Also, people have to want the help or our efforts can come back to hurt our nation. I say if we want to help others by being the international police then we should help all who need it and not limit it to only those that can offer America something it wants, such as oil and minerals.”
Coincidentally, Wright’s son Bryce was born on September 11, 1989, and turned 12 the day of the attacks.
“When 9/11 rolls around each year, I remember the fallen, but also celebrate the life of my Marine son and my nephew and how each of them have grown to become outstanding citizens of this amazing country we call home,” said Wright.
Cockrell explained that between September of 1997 and November of 2002 she worked in a number of Eastern European countries as an election expert, trainer, supervisor and observer. “In many of those places, the people or their government felt they had suffered at the hands (or weapons) of the U.S. government. Bosnian Serbs, for instance, were convinced of the rightness of their cause and believed that had the U.S. not led the peace negotiations with such firmness, they would have prevailed. Bosniacs believe that U.S. reluctance to interfere cost thousands of lives and untold suffering,” she said.
“The Kosovar Serbs internally displaced people, and the Serbian people who were then in Yugoslavia suffered greatly under the NATO bombing campaign of 1999. Their attitudes ranged from fear and displeasure to outright hostility and anger. And yet, in most cases, I found that while they did not like the U.S. government, they were ready to embrace the ideal that they believe was the United States of America,” said Cockrell.
“I don’t think that is nearly as true today as it once was. Most of the people I talked to in Serbia after 9/11 agreed that the U.S. had to take action against the perpetrators. We had sympathy, support and respect. That is not true any more. We are feared and, in some places, not respected.”
Cockrell said she does not feel as safe now as she was before 9/11 and the U.S. should not be the world’s policeman. “Someone very wise once said that political aims must not be achieved and sustained with military force,” she said.
“Western-style democracy may not fit every culture in the world and we should be careful how we try to impose it. While I am a great believer in the democratic system, having spent most of my life working to ensure its integrity, I am mindful that we have 800 years of history that has brought us to the point where we are today. To impose democracy as we understand it on societies that are not ready for it is, in my opinion, a mistake. We can teach it, but we cannot impose it.”
