9/11 in History 2

The 10th anniversary of September 11th  was a milestone for the nation, and it was also the beginning of forgetting.

Tuesday will be the 11th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on America’s homeland, and there is no doubt that many Americans are forgetting.

For those that lived through September 11th 2001, for those who lost a friend, a family member, a co-worker, a neighbor, the day and date will never be forgotten; but, as a nation, we are forgetting.

The terrorist attacks that took place September 11th, 2001 were the greatest attacks on American soil in the nation’s history  – surpassing Pearl Harbor in the number of people murdered.

December 7th, 1941, “a date that will live in infamy”, is barely remembered as the day Pearl Harbor was attacked.  Today, for most people, December 7th means 18 days left for Christmas shopping.

New Jersey schools have incorporated 9/11 into their  history curriculum  for a generation that was not yet born in 2001.

The event is used as a tool for teaching about terrorism, global conflict, world history; it is used to teach tolerance, geography, or to study human behavior.

September 11th, 2001 is becoming to a new generation what December 7th, 1947 is to the baby boomer generation and those that followed.

It seems too soon for September 11th to pass into the history books, too soon to become  just another date to be remembered for an exam, a subject to be studied and analyzed.

On September 11th, 2001, it was everyday Americans who were attacked, everyday Americans who responded, and everyday Americans who were killed and experienced the horror.

For those that lived it, for those that responded, for those that came to the aid of a stranger, a neighbor, a friend, for those that cried, for those who cleaned the wreckage, salvaged the corpses, for those who volunteered from around the nation, and for those who sacrificed their lives so others might live… this was America’s finest hour.

If it is destiny that September 11th slips from the American consciousness and into the  history books, let the names of the terrorists be erased, let the stories of politicians take a back seat, and let the first lesson be that on this date in history everyday Americans took a hit, everyday Americans responded, and for everyday Americans it was their finest hour.