9/11 to me: Seamus Salmon
As a member of the next generation, September 11, 2001 means a lot to me because my cousin attended the New York State Fire Academy, and he knew a large number of the firemen who died on that day. It also shows me that in the United States, we will not allow terrorist attacks on our homeland to go unnoticed.
Although I may not agree with one hundred percent of how our country is organized, if an extremist group like Al-Qaeda attacks our country, I am for retaliation. It offends me personally when an individual or group attacks or offends the nation in which I was born. This specific attack had a greater impact, not just on the United States, but on countries around the world.
After the 9/11 attacks, security in public places has increased. I know I was not alive to witness what it was like before, but it still affects me. The security has made simple things like going to a a baseball game like a military base.
I have always prided myself on being able to relate to people and being able to understand what they are thinking or going through, but I can not imagine how I would have reacted if I had seen the towers go down. A part of me would like to think I would have done all that I could to help but the rational side of me says I would have turned the other way and just watched as thousands lost their lives.
Since I was born after the attacks, the towers almost seem to me as ghosts of great people, a haunting of the great and the awful things humans can do, that something that took years to create can be brought down in a day. They appear as heroes and brave people who have been laid to rest permanently like sleeping giants. They also represent the people of our country as strong and mighty warriors who will not back down from a fight, as engagers not instigators. The buildings stand as a reminder of how people can help and still tear others apart.