“Remember” is the antonym of “forget.” On Sept. 11, 2001, the extremist organization Al-Qaeda carried out a series of carefully coordinated terrorist attacks against the United States. The group hijacked four planes, leading to the destruction of the World Trade Center (WTC) towers in New York City and parts of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Both of the planes that struck the WTC departed from Boston Logan International Airport. Nearly 3,000 people were killed, making it by far the deadliest terrorist attack in US history.
Today, our country often emphasizes how we cannot forget those who passed, those who risked their lives and those who lost family members in the attacks. Every year, on the anniversary of Sept. 11, we as a community have a chance to remember and mourn the consequences of that day.
So, as a school, why don’t we? When I asked some of my teachers sophomore year why the high school rarely acknowledges 9/11 on the actual day, they responded with statements like: “If we talked about 9/11 in school, we would have to talk about everything else, too,” and “It happened a pretty long time ago.”
A pretty long time ago? Wasn’t it only 24 years ago? How far back in time can we go until events become obsolete? What makes some historical events more important than another? And if we decide certain events are no longer worth acknowledging, then what is the purpose of studying history at all?
These are the questions I ask myself as I sit in class every year, waiting for someone to bring up the sensitivity this day holds for our society. In my opinion, I, as a student, should not have to be the one to bring up America’s tragic historical events such as 9/11. It should be a standard of our school to talk and reflect on it.
So instead of interrupting my teacher’s lesson, I quietly complete my classwork, wondering why I seem to be the only one who still grasps the memory of the 9/11 attacks.
This day holds very deep significance for my family and me. My mother was originally scheduled to be on Flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles. Days before the attacks, she changed her direct flight for a cheaper connecting flight, due to financial considerations stemming from her job as a director of a software company. Her flight left Boston right in between the two ill-fated planes that morning from Logan. On September 11, while she was in the air, her plane was forced to make an emergency landing, and she later ended up driving 20 hours home with a car full of strangers. Her entire family believed she was dead—no one knew she had changed her flight. That single decision saved her life. Without it, she would not be here today; without it, I would not be here today. The scars of what could have been are still very real, and it’s impossible not to think of the suffering of those who boarded those flights and of those who loved them.
As years pass without much recognition in my classes, it sends the message that this loss no longer matters, even though, for many, the pain has never faded.
The only year I remember acknowledging 9/11 was my freshman year. The school held a short, one-minute moment of silence at 8:46 in the morning, marking the time the American Airlines Flight 11 first struck the North Tower. That day, I had one teacher recognize the tragedy and national sadness that many Americans felt.
As I’ve gotten older, as hard as it is to admit, the absence of this topic has become normalized and even expected.
When bringing this lack of remembrance up to my classmates, one responded, “Wow I totally didn’t realize today was 9/11.” This reaction highlights the issue. We are choosing to forget when it is our responsibility to remember and show our respect to those we lost. Through our lack of action, history begins to slip through our fingers, reduced to articles and stories, without acknowledgement of the emotional weight that is still very prevalent.
I understand that there are numerous events regarding different issues that take place during school hours that deserve more recognition, and I believe it is important to leave space for all important events and issues to be spoken about. Acknowledging one does not mean excluding another; therefore, it is important not to forget that Sept. 11 deserves an annual moment of silence just as much as National Transgender Day of Remembrance, which received a moment of silence last school year.
Organizations such as Ideastream and the American Legion stress that Sept. 11 is not about fear or despair, but about unity, strength and the remembrance of those we lost. As a school that is very diverse and excellent at including many important events into our daily lives, it hurts that every year, Sept. 11 becomes just another normal school day. Students don’t need to be shown pictures of the planes crashing, or the smoke and fire that destroyed New York, but simply a verbal recognition that we are choosing not to forget.
Sixty seconds is not too much to ask. Sixty seconds to pause, reflect and send love and respect out into the world. Sixty seconds for my family, my classmates and for everyone who continues to deal with the hardships and repercussions of Sept. 11. Simply remembering is how we honor what truly mattered.
