9/11

Today, I was a little disappointed in America.

As most of you know, today is the seventh anniversary of 9/11. I can still remember waking up to the news of a plane crashing into the buildings, and the desperate days afterward. I know I wasn't the only one who couldn't watch enough television coverage, or read enough articles (or hear enough survivor stories for that matter). I will never forget September 11, 2001.

How many times did we promise ourselves and those around us that we would never forget? Only seven years later, it seems that much of my country has already broken that promise. I have memorial issues of every major newspaper since 2001. This morning, however, I didn't bother buying a newspaper - the anniversary of the worst attack ever on American soil was apparently not a headliner. I listened to the radio without hearing one mention of what day it was. No one at school mentioned it, I conducted my own moment of silence.

By the time I was on my way home, I felt only sadness and a little bit of disgust at the idea that we have so quickly forgotten. What good can possibly come of such a short memory?

And then I saw them: a group of about five or six teenagers - they looked to be about fifteen or sixteen. They stood along Brentwood's busy street, Balfour Road, waving American flags and signs that said: "We will never forget 9/11." These teens were merely children in 2001, and yet they had organized themselves to remind the world that they will never forget the horror of 9/11. Then I saw a big rig. There were American flags all around the truck, so that they waved as he drove. On the back of the truck was painted, "In memory of all of those who were killed on September 11, 2001..." These two sights made me smile, and I felt a little bit better.

So please don't forget what happened on September 11, 2001. I haven't.