Always Remember

The tragedy that struck this country eleven years ago today will never be forgotten by American citizens. Every person above the age of four most likely remembers the day's events like it was yesterday. Whether they were in New York itself, or cross-country in Washington state, the moments of each and every American citizen's life on the late morning of September 11, 2001 are hard to forget. In Houston, I was five years old sitting in my kindergarden class when parents started showing up around 10:30 to pick up their kids. It was extreme chaos through the halls of my tiny, private catholic elementary school. I can only imagine the relief my parents must have felt when they picked up me and my three siblings from school. This was nothing compared to the reactions of our fellow citizens just a couple thousand miles north of us.



On the reporter side of the situation, etiquette was a key part of releasing this explosive news event to the country. It was obviously a necessity to stop all morning news to release the events of the early day and set live recordings on the scene of the attack. For those mothers who had just sent their kids off to school or people that had been running late to work, many Americans got to watch the second plane hit the other Twin Tower live. Of course this would be a very hard footage to watch after the impact of the first attack. Much controversy was made about pictures released that may have been too graphic for Americans. Reporters were unsure whether it was more important to keep the feelings of families of the fallen in care, or to release every bit of the event so our nation could understand the whole impact. I agree that many pictures were unnecessary to release to every news station all over the country. The falling man picture is a prime example. If I could recognize this as my husband, father, or friend, this picture would crush me. It shows the man as weak, giving up all hope. The fact that this man may very well have kids who could see his dad in this situation is completely inappropriate. We want to convey our fellow Americans that were attacked with reverence and respect. Many pictures released did not do this. My heart goes out to all the friends and families personally included in this awful tragedy. I pray they have found peace and understanding in the situation placed before them eleven years ago. May the 43,862 victims of the September 11th terrorist attack in the World Trade Center rest in peace.

9/11/01 

-Never forget