Remembering

Nineteen years ago I sat in Mrs. Cumberland's Algebra II class trying to wrap my brain around solving for X - until another teacher ran in, muttered something to Mrs. Cumberland and then raced back out. Mrs. Cumberland turned on the TV and I spent the rest of the day trying to wrap my brain around what I was watching unfold on the television. 

I lived in rural Mississippi and while everything about September 11th felt terrifying in the extreme, I also felt that since I lived in the middle of nowhere - I was fairly safe. I suppose the people that lived in Shanksville, Pennsylvania thought the same thing until Flight 93 crash landed in a field and forever made that unremarkable field a place no American would ever forget. 

 

 

One World Trade Center & September 11th Memorial

 

The Pentagon Memorial

 

 

Flight 93 Memorial

September 11, 2001 changed American history as we know it - whether you're like me and will forever remember where you were when the events of that unfolded or you learn about it in a history book. It was only 19 years ago and the aftermath caused the United States to come together in a show of unity that I'd never witnessed before in my America.

It's only been 19 years and now America is more divided than we've ever been. We bicker and judge and berate anyone who is different from us. We seem to have forgotten that what makes America so great is that we are all different and those differences are what make our country unique and beautiful - America is called The Melting Pot for a reason. 

The world is a scary place these days - and I wish there was an answer. I wish there was a way to convince people that different is just that - different - and not wrong. I wish our country could learn to embrace different and love our neighbor - not just when tragedy strikes.