It’s a day many of us remember vividly.
A day filled with horror, confusion, grief and sadness in which terrorists hijacked four passenger planes and crashed two of them into the World Trade Center in New York City, one into the Pentagon and the fourth into an empty field in Shanksville, Pa.
The aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrrorist attack on the World Trade Center at “Ground Zero” in New York City
The end result was 2,977 Americans who lost their lives doing what many Americans do each and every day: going to work and contributing to America’s strength and greatness.
The unexpected events of Sept. 11, 2001 greatly changed the trajectory of American society, culture and foreign policy, causing us to question the very decency of humanity and our place in the world.
We asked questions such as “Why us?” and “Will we survive?”
Immediately after 9/11, President George W. Bush called for the deployment of U.S. troops into Afghanistan and later Iraq. Those two wars eventually resulted in more than 8,000 dead American troops and tens of thousands of disabled military veterans who today live among us in our individual communities.
Every year since 9/11, the country solemnly remembers that tragic day with gatherings and events across America to ensure we keep the event a part of our individual and national psyche.
What happens after Sept. 11 of each year, however? Do we continue to remember the events of that horrifying day as well as their effects? Do we engage one another in discussion and debate in an effort to make sure 9/11 is never forgotten?
Are we doing our part to keep the memory of those who died in the World Trade Center attack, the Pentagon and Shanksville, alive, as well as military personnel whose lives were either lost or forever changed, close to our hearts and fresh in our minds?
I certainly understand and respect the value and importance of anniversaries, but I often wonder if an anniversary like 9/11 is filled with shallow, empty phrases such as “Never forget,” rather than meaningful, heartfelt recognition.
I have also noticed the frequency and substance of 9/11 events held since 2001 to be fewer each passing year.
I recall attending a U.S. flag raising dedication in Hellertown’s Detwiller Plaza three years ago on the anniversary of 9/11. The flag that was dedicated and raised on the flagpole in the plaza had been flown at the crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 in the Shanksville field.
We need more of these ceremonies and events on 9/11 as a means of honoring and remembering the day.
Although the anniversary of 9/11 has again come and gone, we can all do some part–even small–to ensure its memory lives on. We can commit ourselves to not only remembering that day, but also moving forward by embracing, caring and loving one another.
It’s indisputable that we live in a much different world today than we did in 2001, however we have the individual and collective power to positively change our communities, state, nation and the whole of human society.
As President Barack Obama said in a radio address in 2011, “Even the smallest act of service, the simplest act of kindness, is a way to honor those we lost, a way to reclaim that spirit of unity that followed 9/11.”
Let us remember and recognize 9/11 not only on the day’s anniversary, but each passing day and year.
Bethlehem resident Mark Reccek began reporting in 2010. He currently serves as a distressed debt reporter for Prospect News, an online publisher of stock market and financial news. He also serves as a web reporter for WFMZ and the Lehigh Valley Press weekly newspapers. A native of the Lehigh Valley, Mark graduated from Lehigh University with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in political science. He also holds a law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. He is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, having served active duty from 1996-2000.
