Opinion: Where Were You on Sept. 11, 2001? How Fear Changes Us

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The United States paused for just a moment today to mark the seventh anniversary of the terrorist attacks that took place September 11. Presidential candiadates are planning to join together later today at ground zero.

Yahoo reports:

"Today marks the seventh anniversary of the day our world was broken," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at the start of the ceremony, calling Sept. 11, 2001, a "day that began like any other and ended as none ever has."

At the Pentagon a memorial dedication took place. Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld remembered those lost at the first memorial to be completed.

"one morning kissed their loved ones goodbye, went off to work and never came home" and the airline passengers "who in the last moments made phone calls to loved ones and prayed to the Almighty before their journey ended not far from where it began."

The memorials in New York and Pennsylvania are years from being built.

Today two bright beams of blue light will shine in the New York City skyline in place of the towers that fell that day.

At the time the first tower was hit I was resting in bed. My kids had been up late the night before doing some school thing and I was planning on getting up in an hour. My oldest was studying current events that term which meant his first assignment of the day was to watch the Today Show and report on what was new in the world. He was watching when It happened. He woke me up. I called my ex-husband at work to tell him what was going on when I saw that second plane.

Everything changed in that instant. One plane is an accident. The second plane meant an attack. The United States was being attacked on her own soil.

Who? Why? What had we missed?

If you were old enough to have been aware of the news on 9/11/01 you know what I am writing about.

The planes. The Tower. The field. The pentagon.

You don't need to hear anything else. You just know. In a few hours the 'innocence' was gone. Fear had come and taken it's place.

I remember a few weeks after a small plane was circling Winter Haven, Florida. It was just some guy who was flying his own plane having some fun. It had already been ingrained in the public to be 'aware' of everything. Anything could be an act of terrorism. I called the local airport and asked what he was doing. The plane was ordered back to the airstrip and the pilot was questioned.

Weeks before I would never have thought twice about that plane.

Do you remember the local news anchors telling us to watch for tankers, to notice the colour of the driver's skin?

The fear Muslim people must have had just walking on their own blocks. The American people on a whole were sure that skin colour made a person a terrorist. They had to be watched, observed. Anything they did could be an act of terrorism.

Do you remember not questioning the President when it was time to go attack Afghanistan?

I moved to Canada a few years later. I remember the first air show during the CNE. I thought we were under attack. My friends and neighbours were amused. My youngest son and I weren't.

Fear has a way of changing you.

I was proud of myself this year. The planes roared over our co-op and I didn't miss a beat. After the first few. It takes a bit of time.

So where were you? Did you sit glued to the TV praying that it was over? That no one else would die a senseless death that day? Did you have pride for those men on Flight 93? Did you understand fear? Has it changed your world view?

Seven years ago today 2,974 souls were lost forever. They were innocents in a horrible plot to instill fear. Men, women, children all bound together in just moments, split seconds for some, that changed our world forever.

Where were you?