2008 Woodie Awards
My 9/11
Jarrod Moore
Issue date: 9/13/06 Section: Opinion
I was 20 years old, residing on the living room floor of a two bedroom apartment in Colorado with six friends on September 11, 2001. That morning, at an hour seemingly earlier than God intended man to awaken, much less have conscious thought, one of my roommates damn near tripped over my snoozing carcass in a sprint to the television, immediately turning my deep sleep into a confused and slightly bitter stare of an abrupt, "better have a damn good reason" awakening.
She said that her father, who had taken the day off from his job at the Pentagon, had just called and informed her of an airplane crashing into one of the twin towers in New York City. We turned the T.V. on and found coverage on just about every station.
The reporters, at that time, were trying to find out whether the crash was an accident, and if so, how it happened. Then the second plane hit the second tower, right in front of our eyes.
I'm not sure whether it was the lingering grogginess of a rude awakening, or the confusion of an indecipherable cauldron of emotions, but everything around me seemed to stop at that very moment. I remember every detail of that day 5 years ago, and like most of us, I always will.
Of course, it's kind of hard to forget when we're reminded of it every single day for five years from news reports, t-shirts, stickers, gossip, and even two major motion pictures. To me, the impact of the loss of so many innocent lives was enough to never forget.
Bombing the hell out of Afghanistan in reaction to a horrific tragedy on American soil was an easy segue to defying the rest of the world's wishes and commencing a premeditated war against Iraq on false premises, thus turning sympathy into distrust. And we know Iraq was connected with Al-Qaeda and the 9/11 attack, because any idiot is a savant when speaking behind a podium that reads "President of the United States."
Banking on emotion and creating fear through the media is one hell of an easy way to turn a nation of Sean Hannity watchers into pitchfork and torch wielding yes-men, all the while teaching ignorant gung-ho rednecks new words and phrases to misuse and mispronounce, like "terrist," "inserjent," and "newkyoolar guns."
However, the tragedy of September 11, 2001 is but half a decade young, and with every passing year it serves as a vehicle for unity in this country.
It is a day when we should set aside our political alliances, war or peace mongering, racial slurs, religious differences and
small-time entrepreneurial aspirations, and mourn the lost, as well as honor the survived.
She said that her father, who had taken the day off from his job at the Pentagon, had just called and informed her of an airplane crashing into one of the twin towers in New York City. We turned the T.V. on and found coverage on just about every station.
The reporters, at that time, were trying to find out whether the crash was an accident, and if so, how it happened. Then the second plane hit the second tower, right in front of our eyes.
I'm not sure whether it was the lingering grogginess of a rude awakening, or the confusion of an indecipherable cauldron of emotions, but everything around me seemed to stop at that very moment. I remember every detail of that day 5 years ago, and like most of us, I always will.
Of course, it's kind of hard to forget when we're reminded of it every single day for five years from news reports, t-shirts, stickers, gossip, and even two major motion pictures. To me, the impact of the loss of so many innocent lives was enough to never forget.
Bombing the hell out of Afghanistan in reaction to a horrific tragedy on American soil was an easy segue to defying the rest of the world's wishes and commencing a premeditated war against Iraq on false premises, thus turning sympathy into distrust. And we know Iraq was connected with Al-Qaeda and the 9/11 attack, because any idiot is a savant when speaking behind a podium that reads "President of the United States."
Banking on emotion and creating fear through the media is one hell of an easy way to turn a nation of Sean Hannity watchers into pitchfork and torch wielding yes-men, all the while teaching ignorant gung-ho rednecks new words and phrases to misuse and mispronounce, like "terrist," "inserjent," and "newkyoolar guns."
However, the tragedy of September 11, 2001 is but half a decade young, and with every passing year it serves as a vehicle for unity in this country.
It is a day when we should set aside our political alliances, war or peace mongering, racial slurs, religious differences and
small-time entrepreneurial aspirations, and mourn the lost, as well as honor the survived.
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