Response

Sherman Dellenbach

Zachary Dilbeck

ENGL 1100

September 22, 2013

Response

Peace of mind is something everybody wants. It makes us feel secure and happy and content. I was only in first grade and knew nothing but being safe and feeling loved. I knew I had my daily routine of going to school and then after I would ride my bus to my baby sitters. I usually wouldn't see or talk to my mom until she picked me up. Today was different and everybody seemed to be acting strange. I didn't know what was going on, all I knew was that nobody felt secure, happy, or no longer content.

My mom called my babysitter when I arrived to her house and asked to speak to me. She told me that a plane crashed into a building today. I really didn't think it affected me all that much so I just replied with “OK, what is so bad about that?” I didn't understand how close to home it was being in the same country. I was only in first grade after all. She later explained it to me and I felt lost. I was scared that something was going to happen like that again, and maybe this time closer to us. Were people going to take over? Was a war going to start? I had lost my sense of security and peace of mind.

Everybody remembers where they were on that day. Everybody lost their peace of mind of being in a safe country. Nobody knew how to respond to a catastrophe like that. When a whole country doesn't feel secure, what do we do next? Who was going to protect us?

Alan Jackson wrote a song about September 11^th called “Where Were You”. Being a country singer and focusing on American music, Alan Jackson hits the home of many with this song and the tear jerking lyrics.

“Where were you when the world stopped turning That September day? Out in the yard with your wife and children workin' on some stage in LA? Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke rising against that blue sky? Did you shout out in anger and fear for your neighbor or did you just sit down and cry?”

This attack on our country caused a lot of hurt and pain. This made America come together and work together as a country. This didn't happen for a while though. Everybody was in shock for a long time. Children lost their parent and people lost their loved ones. America didn't know how to react.

As a country, we didn't know this was going to happen and we were caught off guard. We feared more attack and who knew if we were ready for them. Was the President going to do anything about this? Was he in the line of fire also? As a first grader this was devastating. I was scared to go outside. Just me, a little girl, was afraid to go outside and play because maybe I would have a plane fly above me. Maybe that plane had “bad guys” in it and were going to hit my house next.

I can only imagine what was going on in New York right now. TV headlines summarized it, but I don’t anything or any image could describe the actual size and severity of this attack. What were all the adults thinking? Were they scared? What were my mom and dad thinking? If they were scared I wouldn't have known what to do because they were my security. The government and president was who they were looking up to at this time and that was their security.

It may just be because I’m grown up now that I’m noticing and understanding more of what is going on in the world, but I never remember this many catastrophes and shootings when I was little. There has been 9/11, school shootings, the Boston bombing, and The Navy Yard shooting, just to name a few recent ones. Our country has seemed to lose it sense of security, or at least I know I have. Too many bad things have been happening in the past few years. Our country seems to be falling apart ever since 9/11. We are in a recession, we are at war, people are losing their jobs, and this country seems to be slowly falling apart. I’m young and have only been around the past 18 years, but I feel like this country was a better place and everybody seemed happier and more secure when I was younger.

Our countries security has tightened up, but do all Americans feel safer now? What about the people in New York who lost their parents or loved ones? Will they ever gain back faith in the government or feel secure again? Is there any way they can gain back their peace of mind a resume to their normal life before 9/11? Lack of security may be their “normal life” now and what they are used to living with because it’s been 12 years since the attack.

Senator John Kerry made a good point after the 9/11 attack:

“Remember the hours after September 11th when we came together as one to answer the attack against our homeland. We drew strength when our firefighters ran upstairs and risked their lives so that others might live; when rescuers rushed into smoke and fire at the Pentagon; when the men and women of Flight 93 sacrificed themselves to save our nation’s Capital; when flags were hanging from front porches all across America, and strangers became friends. It was the worst day we have ever seen, but it brought out the best in all of us.”

If we didn't feel safe or felt alone after this attack, at least we knew we had each other and that America could come together so quickly and help as much as we could possible. We should feel like we have peace of mind because we have each other. We know we can depend on the effort of the community and make the most of what we have to get our country through what it needs to.

  

Works Cited

"Remembering 9/11: Quotes that will help everyone never forget." Examiner.com. N.p., 10 09 2013. Web. 22 Sep 2013. <http://www.examiner.com/article/remembering-9-11-quotes-that-will-help-everyone-never-forget>.

Boeri, David. "What We’ve Lost In The Name Of National Security." 90.9 wbur. N.p., 11 09 2013. Web. 22 Sep 2013. <http://www.wbur.org/2013/09/11/boeri-loss-of-rights>.

Alan, Jackson. "ALAN JACKSON LYRICS." Metro Lyrics. N.p.. Web. 22 Sep 2013. <http://www.metrolyrics.com/where-were-you-when-the-world-stopped-turning-lyrics-alan-jackson.html>.