September 11th: Even Bad Events Can Motivate and Inspire

It has been 12 years since that infamous series of terrorist acts were perpetrated on American soil.Two of the largest buildings in New York City were hit by commercial airliners piloted by terrorists as well as the United States Pentagon. The passengers of another commercial flight chose to fight back against the terrorist hijackers and caused the plane to crash in a Pennsylvania field rather than hit its intended target.

These blatant attacks on the citizens the of the United States caused a well of righteous indignation to arise in the hearts of many Americans, motivating them to action and inspiring them to heroic feats. In the midst of crisis, there was a call for heroes, and America answered that call. Patriotism at that time reached a high level and America seemed united.

Flash forward 12 years and the United States is in a state of disunity. Instead of committing to the fight against terrorism, a path to appeasement seems to be the popular way these days. Instead of facing evil and striving to prevail against it, we try to rationalize it and ask ourselves why these people want to kill us. The culture of heroism and patriotism that came with September 11th, 2001 has faded. I know that many Americans enlisted or sought commissions in the branches of the United States military following the attacks of 9/11/01 just to serve their fellow countrymen after what happened on that day.

I remember the moment I heard about the attacks on September 11th, 2001. It was the day after my 18th birthday and I was on my way to morning soccer practice when the news came over the radio. I had just completed my initial entry enlistment paperwork to go into the U.S. Marine Corps on July 31st, 2001, so I knew I would be involved in armed conflict one way or the other. Eventually, I would be deployed to Iraq four times. The fact that I was in New York City two days before the planes hit the towers gave me a moment of pause to be thankful I was not on one of those planes, or even that I was not stranded in New York City in the no-flight status days after the attack.

Listening to all the stories of people who acted on 9/11/01, it is apparent that these people were caught in an emergency; a dire situation. In facing this catastrophe, they performed admirably and showed their true character: the fire fighters and other emergency workers who rushed into the towers to save as many as they could before they came crashing down. Many of these gave their lives to save others. To those men and women on this day of remembrance, I salute you.

Sometimes disasters can cause ordinary people to rise up and become heroes. They are motivated by negative events to act; they are inspired to feats of greatness in response to the bad thing that has happened. This is not to say the disastrous event itself was good, but that the people's actions who responded bravely in response to the event were inspired and motivated not to let evil go unanswered.

If you were put in an emergency situation, how would you respond? Does your legacy mean more to you than self-preservation? Would you sacrifice your safety to save others?

Where were you on September 11th, 2001? What were your first thoughts when you heard of the attack on the United States? If you are not an American citizen, how did citizens of other countries view 9/11/2001 and the events that occurred therein?

There are many variations of this saying, but my favorite is "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to overcome it." This courage was needed and delivered by the heroes of 9/11.

Will you cower in fear in the face of evil acts, or will you fight back? The choice is yours.