In Memory of 9/11

Where were you on September 11,2001, when at 8:45 AM ET, a plane slammed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan?

Less than 20 minutes after the first plane left a burning, gaping hole on the 80th floor of the 110-story building, a second plane crashed into the south tower- dismissing what we initially thought was a freak accident.

The building exploded, showering pieces of the building and debris on the surrounding buildings and streets. Hundreds of people died and hundreds more were trapped. Only six people survived, 2,763 died.

That day has remained seared into our memory. If we were old enough to have watched the horror of that day we remember where we were and what we were doing.

I was visiting family in Northern California when the telephone awakened us at dawn.

A New York family member, crying so hard we could hardly make out what she was saying told us to turn on the news. We had cousins who were firemen and policemen who were at the scene.

Like millions of other Americans, we stayed glued to our tv sets and watched as a third plane attacked the Pentagon. It too crashed and 125 people did not survive.

We watched as a fourth plane, which had been hijacked out of New Jersey went down in a field in Pennsylvania, killing all 40 people aboard.

President George W. Bush declared,” Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundations of America. These acts shatter steel, but they can not dent the steel of American resolve.”

The U.S. declared a war on terrorism and led the international effort to oust the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. That war, which still continues, has cost in excess of $1 trillion U.S. dollars. It’s fueled extremism all over the globe and can rightfully be called a war without end.

The war on terrorism, which still continues, has cost in excess of $1 trillion U.S. dollars. It’s fueled extremism all over the globe and can rightfully be called a war without end.

9/11 changed our lives in many ways. It certainly did mine. I returned to Dallas from Northern California six days afterward, still numb. We quickly produced a McCuistion TV program: Terrorism: Important Information You Haven’t Heard Yet.

That program started my quest for answers and a continuing mission to find out why people so hate that a 9/11 can happen. It led to the documentary we produced, The Roots of War the Road to Peace, which took us to, Iraq, Saudi, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, the list goes on, asking questions, interviewing citizens and officials.

We told the truth, the doc got picketed by The Freedom and Justice Foundation. That incident prompted my subsequently taking 10 more trips to the Middle East, continuing to ask why questions.

We live in an increasingly polarized world. We live in a world where there are too many acts of violence, terrorism, and terrorists. 9/11 ushered in a world where fear, lack of trust, polarization has become part of our daily lives.

It’s led to a slow erosion of our values and a democracy under assault. Its pitted neighbors against each other, country against country and seemingly created never-ending wars

Yet I still truly believe we can and must all play a part in building bridges of understanding, respect, and compassion to stop our never-ending wars.

Where were you on 9/11? How did it impact you? I’d love to hear from you.

As always thank you for watching and listening as we continue talking about perspectives that matter with people who care.