This Sept. 11 marked the 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks that changed our world.
In order to honor those that lost their lives in the four attacks, during search and rescue, and overseas, a candle light memorial was held on the rock. It was a very emotional gathering, especially as we paused for a moment of silence to reflect on where we were on that day 10 years ago.
Most of us were children, so we didn’t quite understand what happened. We turned to our parents or other family members to explain to us the gravity and enormity of the situation. On Sept. 11, 2001, we came together as a country; we showed our support, grieved and hoped as a unified nation.
I ask now, 10 years later, where were you on Sept. 11 this year? We have a large student body, but barely any students attended the memorial to show their support. There is a problem with our generation; we‘ve become relatively apathetic and we’ve somewhat tuned out the important things going on around us. We would rather talk about “Jersey Shore” or the Kar-trash-ians than flip on the news to find out what is going on in the world.
I feel it would be safe to say that most people think, “Well, 9/11 was sad, but it’s yesterday’s news.”
It will never be just yesterday’s news; it is today’s news, tomorrow’s news and news for years to come. I say this because the events of that day flipped and destroyed our reality and replaced it with something much bleaker. We are living in a time of war, and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were possibly the biggest disaster in our country that we will see in our lifetime.
I understand that education comes first and some may have had prior commitments that night, but is it really that hard for you to take 30 minutes out of your day to pay your respects to those innocent people who lost their lives that day? To those families who didn’t even have a body to bury? To honor the men and women in uniform who are serving every day to fight for the principles we hold so dear? If it is, I fear for our future because if we become an apathetic nation, we’ll have no hope of presenting a unified front in times of crises.
Taylor Duckett is a freshman majoring in chemistry.