I wonder what the Lady in the Harbor thought thirteen years ago as she watched the horrific events unfold on September 11, 2001?
Today is a day of great national reflection. Today was the day thirteen years ago that a paradigm shift occurred in our collective culture in these United States of America. Life has changed so much for this country and for me personally.
One minute we were blissfully, willfully, and woefully ignorant of the Islamic jihad that apparently had been called against us by those who claimed to speak for all Muslims worldwide. They view us, the United States and all western culture as “the Great satan”.
I remember watching that 2nd plane hit the towers in real-time and I remember watching those towers come down from the roof of my apartment in Queens which faced the eastside of the city. I remember the horrific smell of sulfur all over the city. I remember the vice grip of terror that tried to overtake me when I heard that the Pentagon had been hit and that there was yet another plane headed to the White House! I remember my own personal fears of the unknown and upon finding out that we had been attacked by religious fanatics and militants, — anger at what was awaiting us as a nation.I remember the grief and the flowers, and the candles, and the posters of the missing, all over the city and the endless funerals – several of which I attended. I remember just wanting to somehow express my feelings for the massive losses that the FDNY and NYPD experience that day. They went in when we were running out and they died because of their heroism. I personally lost 2 very dear friends in the towers. I remember it seemed that everyone was flying flags or spontaneously breaking into song – GOD BLESS AMERICA – kind of thing. No one was embarrassed to be considered too patriotic that day and for months thereafter.
What I find most interesting, is that even though these jihadists call us “satan”, this nation, unlike their own, is ABUNDANTLY BLESSED! Well, they knocked us to our knees by the events of that most infamous day in American history, but what I remember so vividly is what they didn’t expect us to do. We, “The Great satan” stayed on our knees, for months! The majority of Americas actually prayed to OUR GOD! It is truly interesting to me that I remember most that houses of worship all over America were jam-packed for months with Americans seeking God to get answers – yet, we are slandered as evil in the jihadists eyes.
Does “satan” go to God for answers? I don’t think so!
I remember Yankee Stadium’s interfaith worship ceremony and churches, synagogues, and mosques flooded with people after those horrendous events and I remember how people for the first time, in my life, were not afraid to speak up of “needing God’s help to face this unspeakable evil” and for once in our lives we were together as a nation – under God! No partisanship, no political division – just a nation wanting to, needing to begin a long and arduous healing!
We’re not perfect, by any stretch of the imagine – we have so many problems, but we are still the #1 World Leader, the only Super Power left, and the first line of defense against terrorism!
Over these past 13 years, we’ve experience the Iraqi War, the Great Recession, and now it seems we’re head back to war again with an Islamic faction that has anointed itself as the speaker for one of the world’s top 3 religious – the Muslim religion. Now, I do not claim to have any knowledge really of the tenants of this religion, but I’d wager to guess that nowhere does it condone the actions of these extremists – beheadings and such!
Well, in closing I think that the Lady still wants us to move forward, together, unified. She is known the world over to be the beacon of hope for the “tired, the poor, the yearning to breathe free”! She saw those events and she is still standing and carrying the flame of freedom, of hope, of honor for all the world to see!
Felicia M. Lopes The Original BusyGal I do not own the copyright on any of these pictures and is not intended for monetary gain. This is simply a project done to honor the memory of the victims and the day of September 11, 2001
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