Article written by Benjamin Pratt, The Sharp Report
Why we must never forget September 11th, 2001
America is a society that is constantly moving on. We have a short attention span and lately a troubling unwillingness to acknowledge things that we find scary or that we just don’t want to face.
September 11th 2001 was a day I will never forget. I was working the graveyard shift at a local radio station all night. As I did every morning I turned on my television in the early morning just before going to bed. It was 6:45 AM PST and the hosts were discussing the missing D.C. intern Chandra Levy.
When the first report came in, it suggested that a small plane had accidentally hit the World Trade Center. As the news switched to video of the tower; the story just didn’t make sense. How could a small plane do all that damage? While they debated the point the second plane hit and a fireball wrapped around the side of the South tower.
It took me awhile to absorb what was happening, it didn’t even seem real. Then the reports from The Pentagon attack came in followed by an airliner going down in Pennsylvania. I felt safe in Glendale, California but I thought that there must be something planned for Los Angeles too. Thankfully it never materialized.
The rest of the day was a cold, silent blur. The images of burnt wreckage, the cell phone calls from people about to die, the last gasps left on home answering machines from people trapped inside the Trade Center and the non-stop loop video of the towers falling were like a movie.
That night the city was silent. I had only been in Los Angeles for a year but I never heard it so calm. The skies were empty and the streets were quiet. All I could hear was the sound of my tires on the road as I drove into work.
I was so out of it that it wasn’t till I got to within two miles of work that I realized that I never bothered to turn my radio on. As I did 102.7 KIIS FM was playing the National Anthem and it hit me. We were at war.
A few days later I was in Hollywood going out with some friends and I saw a wonderful sight. About 30 people between the ages of 18 and 30 were marching back and forth through the streets along the crosswalk with a huge American flag chanting “USA, USA”. I never felt prouder of my generation.
For a few short weeks America was united. There was no politics, finger pointing, racial divides or petty problems. For a short time we were reminded that our way of life is not a guarantee and that it comes with a price. Crime in major cities dropped dramatically and national pride soared.
WARNING: The video below is very graphic and disturbing but it captures the horror of that day.
Sadly, it was only a matter of time before politics, paranoia and America’s short attention span would return. On this, the 9th Anniversary I ask you to remember that day. Remember the innocent lives lost. Remember the heroes that selflessly gave their lives trying to save others. Remember that there is evil in the world and there is no compromise, no concession and no compassion that will restrain it.
You can ignore evil, you can pretend it isn’t there by calling it something else or justify it with so called wrongs of the past, but it does not change the bottom line. The only way to deal with evil is to exterminate it. I hope for all our sakes we maintain our resolve and not fall prey to complacency as that is the very thing that opened the door for that fateful day.
Stay Sharp!
Stay Sharp!