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Four Years Ago: A Young Girl Remembers September 11, 2001 (By Ronee') by Karen Lynn Vidra, The Texas Tornado
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Rated "PG" by the Author.
Ronee' Le-Anne Reaux, aged 12 1/2, remeniesces about September 11, 2001, when America was attacked by foreign terrorists and why she chooses not to forget.
Tomorrow will mark a very sad day in our nation's history. Four years ago tomorrow, on September 11, 2001, our country was attacked by foreign terrorists who were bent on bringing our great nation tumbling down. Because of their jealousy and hatred, twin towers no longer stand tall and proud in New York City, and nearly 3,000 men, women, and even CHILDREN were senselessly murdered.
I personally did not lose anyone in the terror attacks against America, but my mom has friends who were either in the attacks, or she has friends who lost friends in the attacks, so this has affected her very deeply on the emotional sense. In fact, it has affected EACH of us in a way that will never be equaled, and we are still asking the preverbial question of "WHY?" and wondering what we could have done beforehand to protect our nation from a devastating event such as this. Now we are still waging a war against terror, and because of this, our nation has adopted a security system that means longer lines at airports, bus stations, or other public places, and people are oftentimes randomly searched by police and other law officials, and the police and military presence is a lot more evident now. We are also at war with an unseen enemy, and our men and women are dying for our freedom, and we are still trying to live out our lives as best as we possibly can following the attacks.
Our lives as we once knew it are now gone, and our nation is vulnerable to future attacks; and people are still reeling from the mind-numbing images being played out on the news nowadays, and we are also grappling with the devastation that has hit our southland in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. People no longer trust their neigbors, and people who are Muslim or are dark-skinned are often looked upon as "suspicious" or are often ostracized or treated badly. Some people have gone as far as harming those who are Muslim or are foreign, and those people are left running scared for their very lives. It is a very sad situation, and what people are failing to realize that not ALL Muslims are terrorists, and not ALL Muslim people (or dark-skinned people, for that matter) are "bad".
I don't know if we have learned anything from the terror attacks, but I certainly have...I have learned that there are very bad people in the world who are jealous of our nation because we believe in God, and we enjoy life to its very fullest while other nations thrive on hatred and bringing misery upon themselves--and others--, and they will stop at nothing to bring as much in the way of death and destruction; and they seem to thrive on blood, violence, and hatred. It is a cancer that has spread, and people have to learn to band together and stop it from spreading. This is why we are at war with trying to find terrorists and nip them in the bud before they strike yet again. We have been successful on several fronts, but we still have a very long way to go, and we will not rest until people like Osama bin Laden (and others) are found, caught, and are then brought to justice for their crimes. I may be a kid, but I have seen much in my nearly 13 years on Earth, and September 11, 2001 has taught me that the world is not the nice place I thought it once was, and I have learned that even through tragedy, death, or destruction, there are still plenty of good people who want to help, and I have also learned that our nation has emerged stronger than ever, and not even terroristic hatred or bombs or bullets will bring us down. God has His Hand upon our land, and He has blessed our nation even when we Americans did NOT deserve to BE blessed. Because of this event, we are a people desperate for answers, and we are desperate in the need to bring God back into our land and trust completely in Him whenever disasters strike.
I will be celebrating the anniversary tomorrow in my own special way (at church we will have a special memorial service for the terrorist victims), and I will be singing "God Bless America" as part of the special services. I know I will cry when I sing, but that is okay: we are remembering a very sad time in our nation's history, and we must do everything in our power NOT to forget the significance of that day and why we MUST remember, even though we may not WANT to. But to forget would only ask for further trouble, and we must NOT turn our backs, for terrorists could very well strike again if we don't remain vigilent and ready to defend our nation. We must do everything we can to protect our borders and protect our citizenry, and protect the things that we hold most dear. If we can just do our part to protect our nation and learn to call out to God, then we will be much better off, and God will end up blessing our nation in ways that we could have never imagined. We can also look at this tragedy and thank God that more people weren't killed, or that more places weren't attacked. There were talks of attacks occurring in places like Boston, Massachussetts, Los Angeles, California, Las Vegas, Nevada, Miami, Florida, and other important cities, and yet, somehow, through all the dust, bombs, plane crashes, fires, and buildings falling down, God had His Protecting Hand upon our nation, and many lives were saved by heroic passengers and other people. It could have very easily been so much worse, but God was watching out over us, even as the rest of us were reeling from shock and horror, and He brought us through the horror and made us a stronger nation today. We also learned to pray, and we must do all we can to rely on God when times are tough, and we must thank God for the blessings that He has bestowed upon America.
Now, we may have our problems, but we are free when so many other nations aren't, and we are free to express ourselves without running a risk of getting punished--or possibly even killed. We can be whatever we choose to be in life, and we can go to school and try to better ourselves in the process. We can also learn of other cultures, and we can welcome people from other lands, and we can call them our brothers and sisters. Sure, we may look, act, sound, or think different, but we are ALL Americans, and we believe in the American way of life, and we will defend our nation in both peace-time and in war-time; and we will stop at nothing to celebrate the special things that make America so wonderful!
This is why we have to stop and think about the events of September 11, 2001 because it shows people that even though we were cruelly attacked, we did NOT fall, and we will not let terrorists stop us from living our lives from Americans. That is what terrorists want: they want us to be afraid, but like it or not, the terrorists' hatred will be their downfall, and America will remain strong and safe if we learn to rely on God and cry out to him during our times of tragedy or grief.
God bless America, and may we never forget September 11, 2001, and the lessons it evoked! May we remember those who died in the attacks, and those who tried to save the fallen, and may we remember that even though we got shaken up pretty good, we did NOT waver, and today, nearly four years later, America is still standing!!
~Written by Ronee' Le-Anne Reaux, aged 12 1/2, on September 10, 2005. >tears<
Author's Note:
I choose to remember; I choose to remember September 11, 2001, every day of the year. We would be stupid to forget what happened four years ago tomorrow! May we NEVER forget, and may God bless our nation as never before!!
~Love, your friend, Karen Lynn in Texas. :( >tears<
Karen you are a true patriot and compassionate believer who is a force for good in this world through your excellent stories!Never put your golden pen down and always share your inspired work!
Tomorrow will mark a very sad day in our nation's history. Four years ago tomorrow, on September 11, 2001, our country was attacked by foreign terrorists who were bent on bringing our great nation tumbling down. Because of their jealousy and hatred, twin towers no longer stand tall and proud in New York City, and nearly 3,000 men, women, and even CHILDREN were senselessly murdered.
