Today we recognize and pay tribute to the 11th anniversary of 9/11. (I hate to say “celebrate” because it just sounds wrong.) My heart goes out to the surviving family members of the victims of the terrorist attacks. While all of us who lose loved ones might remember the dates of their deaths, these families must relive the nightmare through newsreels and headlines on television year after year. I can’t imagine what that must feel like.
September 11, 2001 was a pivotal moment in my life. I watched both World Trade Center towers fall while in my accounting office. I watched the Pentagon erupt in smoke and flames. I worried for my youngest sister, who was attending Princeton University at the time and in danger of anthrax. I was in my early twenties when it occurred, and it became the natural breaking point through which I see my life. Some people measure their lives before and after a marriage or a baby. I measure mine before and after 9/11. It shaped my political bent, my writings, an my views of warfare. It became the reason I still cheer for the New York Yankees.
As 9/11 slips father into the past, the pain our nation feels will lessen. On one hand, this is good, for no one should carry such a heavy burden indefinitely. I fear, however, that as the memories fade, our nation will lose sight of the mistakes we made before the attacks. I worry that we might forget the dangers of underestimating evil. I hope our government never backs away from its primary purpose: to protect the rights of its people from all enemies, both foreign and domestic. 9/11 is now part of our history, and history can always repeat itself we fail to remember the lessons it teaches us.
America, we must never forget the September 11 attacks–not only because we should honor its victims and its heroes, but also because we need to protect ourselves and our children from something like this ever happening again.
Fantasy novelist M. B. Weston is the author of The Elysian Chronicles, a fantasy series about guardian angel warfare and treason. Weston speaks to children, teens, and adults about writing and the process of getting published. For more information on M. B. Weston, visit www.mbweston.com. Find out more about The Elysian Chronicles at www.elysianchronicles.com.
