Thoughts on 9/11

Each year I take a few days and discuss 9/11 with my sixth grade students. I feel blessed to be able to do this because it reminds me of this event in history and stirs my heart. As awful as things were that day, it showed what the people of America (particularly New Yorkians) are capable of. Here are a few journal entries I made in September 2001:

9.11.01  Kam is ten months old today and today was one of the worst days in America’s history. This morning terrorists attacked America by flying two passenger jets into New York’s World Trade Center, one jet into the Pentagon and a failed attempt at what officials think was supposed to be the White House or Camp David. It ended up crashing just outside of Pittsburgh. An hour or so after the Trade Center was hit, both towers collapsed. They are saying that tens of thousands are likely to be killed in New York. I woke up this morning and turned on the news right after the first tower was hit. Everyone thought that it was just a freakish accident. I woke up Lindsay and as we were watching it the second tower was hit. We saw the plane come through the side of the screen and slam into the tower. When I got to work we gathered in Craig Knight’s room and couldn’t believe what we were seeing. It was hard to focus on work today. I talked to my students about what was happening and the seriousness of what this may mean. My emotions were on overload today and I am so saddened by the loss of lives. Since I began teaching my U.S. symbols unit this last year I’ve grown to love this country so much. The visuals I have seen on T.V. will be hard to forget. It will be interesting to see if these events pull us into war. We’ll wait and see over the next few days.

9.16.01  This has been a surreal week. The events that happened this last Thursday have been unfolding. They have only been able to find five survivors from the attack on the Trade Center. They are estimating that the death toll will be over 5,000. President Bush has said that America will find who did this and will strike back. The process will take the patience of the American people, but it will be resolved. My students are a little too young to understand all that’s going on and some of them think it’s just a “cool” thing that’s happened. The Nation has really pulled together on this and have mourned over what’s happened. Today in church Bishop Parker gave a great talk on how we can better understand the attacks. In Helaman, chapter 12, verses 1-3, Helaman is recounting the wars and what has happened to the people. He says that when the people prosper they forget the Lord their God. In verse 3 it says that the Lord visits His people with death and terror and with all manner of pestilence and except He does this they will not remember Him. Now this doesn’t mean that the Lord is responsible for these events, but President Hinckley said this week that the Lord could have stopped these things from happening, but you can see that His hand was involved. Today is a day when most people in America worship the God of sports and recreation. But today the Nation has gone to church. Today the Nation is remembering the Lord. All over the country the people are worshipping God and looking to Him for answers. Bishop went on to explain about all the innocent who lost their lives. Why did the Lord allow these people to suffer so that we could remember Him and look to Him? In Alma, chapter 14, Alma and Amulek are serving their mission and they witness a group of women and children being burned alive and Amulek wants to stop what is happening. Alma says that the Lord is allowing it to happen so that the blood of the innocent will stand as a witness against the guilty. Those who died this week are in Paradise. The innocent are in a better place and the Lord is taking care of them. The Lord is also taking care of those who caused this horrible tragedy, although I know His mercy is being extended in ways I don’t know. There are wonderful things that have come from this attack. The world is remembering God and looking to Him for peace. It definitely has caused a stirring in my heart.

9.20.01  Right now I’m watching a live broadcast of President Bush speaking to Congress and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I am amazed by him! He is a wonderful man and a great president. He wants the world to be free of terrorism. He wants the help of the world to support him in this crusade. His words tonight have been inspiring and poignant. My emotions are high and I have been close to tears many times during his speech. I want the world to have peace. I want to win this battle. May God grant us wisdom in this battle. And may He watch over the United States of America.

9.30.01  Today is the last day of the month and I think I’ve written in this month’s journal than any other month so far. It has been a wild 30 days. The attacks have caused a great feeling in this nation. There are American flags everywhere you go. Billboards show their spirit with words like “United we Stand,” “God Bless the USA,” and so forth. President Bush is still seeking Osama Bin Laden and any other terrorist group. He has set forth to rid ALL terrorist groups from the earth. Pakistan has refused to hand over Bin Laden. Too bad for them. I would not want to get in the way of the U.S.