nmah1530.xml

nmah1530.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-08

I am a high school educator in Houston, Texas at Sam Houston High School. It was during my planning period that I heard a morning radio show vaguely describing the first plane hitting the World Trade Center. At first, I thought they were joking. From their tone, I realized that it was serious. There was no other information at that time and of course I thougt a plane had malfunctioned in some way and caused damage to the building. I immediately went in search of a television and found the news on the the school library. That was when I learned of the malicious intent that was involved in the crash.Today my sincere comprehension is no better than it was at that moment. As I stood trying to absorb what was happening, the 2nd plane hit and I continued to watch as the towers collapsed. As reports came in about the details of the attacks, I began to panic. I don't know how many times that I've been on the phone with my sister on the cellphone and she tells me that the call will drop as she passes the Pentagon. She lives not 5 minutes away. One of my dearest friends works at Capitol Hill and I'd incorrectly heard at that point that it had been attacked. Another friend that is like a sister me is a flight attendant and at that point I had no idea what airlines had been used for the attack. I literally ran to my classroom to contact them all and could only get in touch with me friend, the flight attendant. She wasn't at work that day and flies Continental. Not being able to reach the people that I love in Washington moved me almost to paralysis. At this state, my students were now in class and were becoming frightened by my behavior. I had to get myself together for my kids. Tomorrow, I will have my students share in this experience. I don't really know that they still truly comprehend it, in the same way that as Southern children, they know what snow is but, most have never experienced it. As the months passed I listened to their version of patriotism as the boys vowed to go the Afghanistan themselves to hunt down Bin Laden. As geography teachers, we were charged and committed to make sure that this historical moment did not create a generation of people that hated Arabs and Muslims. We taught the children about the Arab region and about Islam. They were sophisticated enough to discriminate between this horrible act and the people and religion they claim.

As a person, that studied international politics in college and have beem friends with many from the Arab world, I have spent most of my adult life as less than patriotic. Not until I traveled to France several years ago, did really appreciate being American. France is a beautiful country but, not until then did recognize my American civil liberties that I've taken for granted. I now understand what it is to truly be a part of an American family. I've learned to embrace the wonderfulness of American culture. I've learned that you can't be a part time or lukewarm American. The sisters, mothers, fathers, brothers, aunts, uncles, grandmothers, grandfathers and friends that were lost that day could have been my own. I now know with all clarity that when America was attacked; I was attacked. I and America are one and the same.

I think what should be remembered aboutis that the average American can be heroic. As an educator, we save lives literally and figuratively everyday. People should remember that about themselves. We should remember that September 11th did not create heroes. From the firefighters to police officers to stockbroker to little kids that helped raise money, American heroes were already in place. Another issue of importance is that study and understanding of other cultures and world politics should be paramount in American education. Most of the world knows more about America than the average American and we know very little, to nothing about the rest of the world except Europe. This must change in our education system.

I had conflicting feelings about flying the flag after 9/11. I felt that I would be hypocritical on a personal level. Plus, I literally couldn't find a flag. I have evolved. My show of patriotism came through placing a red, white and blue bow on the front of my Jeep. One of my friends had to force me to take it off this summer since it was so tattered. Replacing it for me just wouldn't be the same as the first one. I will place another bow on my car this Wednesday as a symbol of solidarity. I will also fly this week to Washington to see my sister. Not so much the flag but, the Pledge of Allegiance brings a new emotion to me. It is no longer just a part of my morning procedure, it is now a daily commitment.