Time has a way of healing wounds, causing any pain and suffering to fade into obscurity. Any lessons you may have learned then, also fade away.
As I look at the world and all that’s going on around us, I cannot but question whether we even learned anything from the 9/11 attacks. It is such a different world today than it was 15 years ago.
I cannot get the picture of the planes hitting the twin towers out of my mind, even to this day. Or the people on the ground and the stories of those inside the buildings. It tears at my heart and realizing we have put that dangerously behind us, rips into the very core of my being.
So frustrating that we came together as one country in 2001 and today we are more divided than ever. If you don’t think you can’t blame that on our leaders, you need to think again. Our leaders set the tone and pace. Good ones can diffuse situations, not add to them.
9/11 should have proved to us that terrorists do not need to purchase weapons of mass destruction from foreign powers. They can use materials easily obtained right here in our country.
Every time there is a terrorist incident, we supposedly increase national security. But the attacks still happen because there are too many holes to plug in the system. And terrorists know our weaknesses and how to exploit them. We threw millions of dollars into a “homeland bureaucracy” which doubled the CIA and then spurned private sector replicas without addressing the need or what we really needed to do. Partisan politics for profit at its best.
These terrorists came from within. Living in America and plotting right here in our land of the brave and free. We cry infringement of privacy when tracking them intrudes our space. Yet, we want to know what is being done and when attacked, why wasn’t something done.
The attacks didn’t come from unfriendly nations, they came from those we thought of as friendly and we should have learned that we are too dependent on foreign oil. Foreign oil helped fund the 9/11 terrorists.
It wasn’t so much that they are jealous of us as a reason to hate us but that they see us as bullies. Something we created with foreign policies and not going to the table to talk at times. Yes, sometimes you need to talk; other times it’s too late to talk. Good, sound leadership makes the difference in these situations.
Our standing with other nations is at an all time low. The U.S. has used its money and might to support regimes in other nations that suppress freedom. We have even given them some of the weapons they then can use against us.
If we want to be respected by other nations, we have to offer them that same respect, not call them evil right away. We need to be addressing root problems to keep such a tragedy from happening again. To not do so, is an affront to the families of those who lost lives in 9/11.
With America now fighting from within with each other, we are letting the terrorists win. They are probably sitting back laughing at what we are doing to each other.
I daresay our government has even used 9/11 against us to take some of our liberties away. Elections were won and lost using 9/11 as a wedge. Some Constitutional liberties have been taken away. Some liberals have raised the cry that conservative Christians are just as bad or worse than the Muslim extremists and many Americans are buying into it. They also try to convince everyone who will listen that it is our guns which are the problem and they make headway with some people. They want us to surrender so they can continue telling us what’s good for us because they think we aren’t smart enough to know.
I am one of those who does not like change. However, there is a time for change and we need to change our thinking in some areas. Conventional thinking is not always the best course of action with the way our world has changed. Tried and true methods are no longer working and actually put us at risk as our enemies have figured out what we will do and can anticipate our next move because they think they know us.
Some people don’t even want to think about 9/11 anymore but we must. We can’t let it fade from our memory and we have to keep the lessons we should have learned burning bright and keep striving to learn them.
American power is no longer seen as a threat and does not ensure our safety or give our country global leadership.
But as important as the political lessons are, there were other lessons we also tend to overlook. Lessons like God brings good out of evil and He is our only hope. Real people become heroes. Life is precious and we should make every moment count because today may be all that you get. People still do care about each other and they rise up together in a time of crisis. Courage can make a difference.
So as you remember 15 years ago on 9/11, consider the lessons and keep talking about them so they are not forgotten. Hug your loved ones a little tighter every day.
To honor our local heroes, the first responders in recognition of 9/11, we dedicated the front pages to them to say thanks. We support and appreciate them. Thank you.©2016

VICTORIA SIMMONS is an author, columnist, motivational speaker, minister and publisher of The Georgia Post/Byron Buzz. Contact her at: vsimmons54@gmail.com