nmah868.xml

nmah868.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-03

On the day of September 11th, I woke up at the usual time of 7:00 A.M. (Pacific time) to get ready to go to University High School. As I arrived to my class, i saw a television that displayed the local news. At first, I thought that the Davis Monthan Air Force base was struck by a plane because the picture wasn't so clear and my teacher turned off the television to teach. For the rest of the school day, I did not understand what was happening in New York or any where else in the world. As soon as I arrived back home, my curiosity immediately told me to turn on the television. I watched and soaked the information in, learning about the fall of the mighty Twin Towers and the identity of Osama bin Laden. I watched the news and completed my homework at the same time, and I watched Dan Rather talk all night long. And the thing I remember the most was George W. Bush giving a speech, which seemed strangely alike to Ronald Reagan's speech immediately after the space shuttle Challenger blew up in front of so many children.

My life has changed, although not dramatically. None of my relatives were even near the devastated areas. I learned that I am not safe in the world, even with the 300 trillion dollars that we spend on defense each year. I learned who Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda terrorist group were. After 9/11, whenever I want to fly back to China, I must leave two to three hours ahead of departure to pass the dramatically increased security, and be "randomly" singled out for inspection. One time, when I was asked to be checked, I saw that all of the people in this "randomly" selected group were of another ethnicity that is not white. I realized that these people were using racial prejudice to conduct their jobs, and this made me think, "Don't they know that terrorists probably already has people who are actually American citizens and willing to hijack or blowup a plane?" However, after watching some more news, especially of the Shoebomber incident, I learned that some Americans were actually randomly selected while the Shoebomber got on the plane with no problem at all. But the incidents of 9/11 and events relating to that day gave me multiple perspectives on life. I saw through a typical Middle Easterner's eyes where they would only obtain one side of a story that the government gave out and that their culture was far different from ours. I saw through a typical American's eyes, who wants to kill Osama and other terrorists. Yet, some went as far as to kill some people of Middle Eastern descent, which gave me a message that without tolerance, a person can do really self-centered and idiotic things. Finally, I saw through the eyes of a neutral person, someone from China, or Russia, or even Great Britain, who viewed the actions we took as too radical. But they do not understand the patriotism that Americans feel, the pride that Americans have, and the recklessness of our young country. Yet I still believe the actions President Bush took were justified, and bringing Osama to justice would bring peace to those who lost family members.

I think that the sacrifices of the brave souls of the firefighters and police officers should be remembered. I think that everybody's life who perished on 9/11 because of the attacks should be remembered. I think that the name of Osama bin Laden and his terrorist group should be remembered, to remind us who did it. Most importantly, the Twin Towers that stood for the United State's might in the world economy, and the Pentagon that stood for the US's military superiority should be remembered.

No, I did not fly an American flag, since I'm really not an American yet. But, I did wear a flag pin on my tuxedo jacket to honor those who have died while playing at a concert. My feelings have not changed about the flag. I believe it is a symbol of freedom that some dislikes (such as religous extremists or terrorists). It stands for the United States, and it has inspirationed men who fought for freedom from the British in the American Revolution.