9-11 has became almost a thing of the past, and it's terrible.
A chance for everybody to make a post on social media with the hashtag we will never forget. I even heard it called "9-11: The attacks on New York City" on the internet the other day. I remember growing up and watching 9-11 documentaries all day and night on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America.
This year, it was hard to find just one. Amid trouble in the middle east with ISIS and other domestic issues, the media understandably had other stories to cover.
Students in middle school now have no recollection whatsoever of 9-11. The average American knows that there were four planes that were hi-jacked and three of them crashed into symbols of American power, The Pentagon and The World Trade Center. Oh, and there was a fourth plane.
That fourth plane that everybody seems to forget about. There were 40 strangers that boarded United Flight 93 from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco, California on September 11, 2001. The events that lead up to 9-11 and the events that followed are all captured in "Flight 93: The Story, The Aftermath and the Legacy of American Courage on 9/11" By Tom McMillan.
Tom McMillan is the vice president of communications for the Pittsburgh Penguins. I had the privilege to listen to McMillan speak about his new book and Flight 93 to Point Park students and faculty on Thursday before a candle light vigil held in Village Park to honor the lives of those lost that fateful day.
If you get the chance to read his book, do it. A journalism professor at PPU, Helon Fallon wrote a book review for the book found by clicking here. All proceeds go towards the Flight 93 memorial, where McMillan volunteers a lot of his time.
I was disappointed that I was unable to attend the Honors Program trip to Sommerset last weekend to visit the memorial. I will make it out there before I graduate for sure.
McMillan shared with us the stories of many passengers on the flight and the their struggle to take back the plane. He said that from the evidence that they have, the passengers weren't trying to take the plane over to crash it and save innocent lives. They were trying to save themselves.
I wish I could describe everything that he told us in the short hour long session. His presentation was powerful, emotional and inspiring.
What if 9-11 happened in today's world of smart phones and social media? What if there had been more images and videos of the wreckage and crashing of Flight 93? What if the plane had taken off a half hour sooner and not been delayed? What if the plane did crash into the Capitol building where congress was meeting? There are so many what if questions that came into my head that night.
What if we didn't just take 9-11 as an opportunity to post a pretty picture of the memorials with a never forget quote and actually took time to take it all in and learn about the victims and learn about what all really happened?
The famous quote often wrongly attributed to Joseph Stalin reads as such: "The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic."
Those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 were all individuals with families, stories, hopes and dreams.
My point is this: As time goes on, we put less and less importance on major events that result in major loss of life: Titanic, Pearl Harbor, natural disasters etc. It happens, and it's a shame. My memories of 9-11 are faint and not too dramatic. We do need to take time to learn about those who lost their lives, pay tribute to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice and actually "never forget."
I'm not sure that I will ever fully realize how lucky I am to live in the United States. I do recognize the fact thought that there are millions who have sacrificed their time and lives to protect us and I can never fully express how thankful that I am for that. We all need to take time to think about how lucky we are and sometimes it takes imagine the "what ifs?" in life.
From "Seussical" by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty:
When your life's going wrong
When the fates are unkind
When you're limping along
And get kicked from behind
Tell yourself how lucky you are...
Because why not?
Josh
A chance for everybody to make a post on social media with the hashtag we will never forget. I even heard it called "9-11: The attacks on New York City" on the internet the other day. I remember growing up and watching 9-11 documentaries all day and night on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America.
This year, it was hard to find just one. Amid trouble in the middle east with ISIS and other domestic issues, the media understandably had other stories to cover.
Students in middle school now have no recollection whatsoever of 9-11. The average American knows that there were four planes that were hi-jacked and three of them crashed into symbols of American power, The Pentagon and The World Trade Center. Oh, and there was a fourth plane.
That fourth plane that everybody seems to forget about. There were 40 strangers that boarded United Flight 93 from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco, California on September 11, 2001. The events that lead up to 9-11 and the events that followed are all captured in "Flight 93: The Story, The Aftermath and the Legacy of American Courage on 9/11" By Tom McMillan.
Tom McMillan is the vice president of communications for the Pittsburgh Penguins. I had the privilege to listen to McMillan speak about his new book and Flight 93 to Point Park students and faculty on Thursday before a candle light vigil held in Village Park to honor the lives of those lost that fateful day.
If you get the chance to read his book, do it. A journalism professor at PPU, Helon Fallon wrote a book review for the book found by clicking here. All proceeds go towards the Flight 93 memorial, where McMillan volunteers a lot of his time.
I was disappointed that I was unable to attend the Honors Program trip to Sommerset last weekend to visit the memorial. I will make it out there before I graduate for sure.
McMillan shared with us the stories of many passengers on the flight and the their struggle to take back the plane. He said that from the evidence that they have, the passengers weren't trying to take the plane over to crash it and save innocent lives. They were trying to save themselves.
I wish I could describe everything that he told us in the short hour long session. His presentation was powerful, emotional and inspiring.
What if 9-11 happened in today's world of smart phones and social media? What if there had been more images and videos of the wreckage and crashing of Flight 93? What if the plane had taken off a half hour sooner and not been delayed? What if the plane did crash into the Capitol building where congress was meeting? There are so many what if questions that came into my head that night.
What if we didn't just take 9-11 as an opportunity to post a pretty picture of the memorials with a never forget quote and actually took time to take it all in and learn about the victims and learn about what all really happened?
The famous quote often wrongly attributed to Joseph Stalin reads as such: "The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic."
Those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 were all individuals with families, stories, hopes and dreams.
My point is this: As time goes on, we put less and less importance on major events that result in major loss of life: Titanic, Pearl Harbor, natural disasters etc. It happens, and it's a shame. My memories of 9-11 are faint and not too dramatic. We do need to take time to learn about those who lost their lives, pay tribute to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice and actually "never forget."
I'm not sure that I will ever fully realize how lucky I am to live in the United States. I do recognize the fact thought that there are millions who have sacrificed their time and lives to protect us and I can never fully express how thankful that I am for that. We all need to take time to think about how lucky we are and sometimes it takes imagine the "what ifs?" in life.
From "Seussical" by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty:
When your life's going wrong
When the fates are unkind
When you're limping along
And get kicked from behind
Tell yourself how lucky you are...
Because why not?
Josh
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