story8821.xml
Title
story8821.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-12-16
911DA Story: Story
How did you witness history on September 11th? Share your experience.
I was at work and we had the radio on. We were just listening to music, and then the news came on, and everyone was like,"Oh, a plane hit the World Trade Center." So we all ran to where the T.V. was. We turned it on and we watched it happen, and saw the second one hit. Then we kept watching it, all morning actually, when the Pentagon got hit, and everybody was speculating about where the President was. Then they closed up shop, and sent us home at the end of the day.
Has your life changed because of September 11th, 2001? If so, tell us how.
It has not really changed appreciably. It makes us think of certain things differently, but does not actually make your day to day life change much, of the way we have been living it.
What do you think should be remembered about September 11th?
I think the thing that should be remembered the most is that it all basically happened because two groups of people misunderstood eachother in a very big way. People have to learn to take eachother not so much for granted, and not assume that everybody else is coming from the same place. Because the have and the have-nots tend to get a little angry with eachother. Generally the have-not's get angry with the haves, which would be us. We're the haves. Third World countries, like the people with the bombs are from, they're all the have-nots. There just a little upset with us, because we are not sharing. That's part of the problem. The other part of the problem is the placency. You tend to get a little complacent when you are at the top of the heap.Which is sort of where we stand. And when you assume that everything is just going to roll on wonderfully, you don't take care of the continguinces, and that is something I think has really taught us. The unthinkable can happen, because it did. And it can happen again. So I think what we have got to do is get rid of as many unthinkables as possible. Which means think of them first, and prepare.
Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th?
Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th.
We flew it for a long time right after it happened, and we flew it again on national Holidays. But it has not been flying consistently, for the past year. Do I feel differently about it, maybe a little stronger and maybe a little more cohesive. I think that is what it does. I think now days when people see the flag they feel a little more cohesive with their fellow Americans.
I was at work and we had the radio on. We were just listening to music, and then the news came on, and everyone was like,"Oh, a plane hit the World Trade Center." So we all ran to where the T.V. was. We turned it on and we watched it happen, and saw the second one hit. Then we kept watching it, all morning actually, when the Pentagon got hit, and everybody was speculating about where the President was. Then they closed up shop, and sent us home at the end of the day.
Has your life changed because of September 11th, 2001? If so, tell us how.
It has not really changed appreciably. It makes us think of certain things differently, but does not actually make your day to day life change much, of the way we have been living it.
What do you think should be remembered about September 11th?
I think the thing that should be remembered the most is that it all basically happened because two groups of people misunderstood eachother in a very big way. People have to learn to take eachother not so much for granted, and not assume that everybody else is coming from the same place. Because the have and the have-nots tend to get a little angry with eachother. Generally the have-not's get angry with the haves, which would be us. We're the haves. Third World countries, like the people with the bombs are from, they're all the have-nots. There just a little upset with us, because we are not sharing. That's part of the problem. The other part of the problem is the placency. You tend to get a little complacent when you are at the top of the heap.Which is sort of where we stand. And when you assume that everything is just going to roll on wonderfully, you don't take care of the continguinces, and that is something I think has really taught us. The unthinkable can happen, because it did. And it can happen again. So I think what we have got to do is get rid of as many unthinkables as possible. Which means think of them first, and prepare.
Did you fly an American flag after the events of September 11th?
Have your feelings about the American flag changed as a result of September 11th.
We flew it for a long time right after it happened, and we flew it again on national Holidays. But it has not been flying consistently, for the past year. Do I feel differently about it, maybe a little stronger and maybe a little more cohesive. I think that is what it does. I think now days when people see the flag they feel a little more cohesive with their fellow Americans.
Collection
Citation
“story8821.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed January 1, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/18986.