The Effects of 9/11

By Broadside Correspondent Sabra Hayes

The effects of 9/11 will echo throughout time. Those four planes hit very close to my home because both my parents were working in the Pentagon at the time. I can remember sitting in my eighth grade science class watching the plane crash into my parents’ office and feeling a wave of terror wash over me.

My parents were the lucky ones. They both escaped with their lives. I know others were not so lucky. However, those that did survive are still suffering from the effects of that day. Instead of taking a sensible approach to terrorism, our government decided to pursue a ridiculous War on Terror.

The United States government’s decision to go to war has had a horrible effect on our country and my family. My father was taken from my family for over a year and sent to the Middle East. This is the story of families all across the country who have lost loved ones because of this war.

The effects of 9/11 should have brought us closer together as a nation and should have made the people realize the importance of life. The current administration is viewing this war as a method to invade other countries under the guise of justice. There is no justice in revenge or in taking away people from their families.

Yes, 9/11 was a tragedy and many people died, and some are still suffering. However, does that mean that those who survived need to be placed in harm’s way? We have gone far enough. It is time to stop this senseless war.

We are fighting a war on terror. Terror will always exist in the world because the definition of terror happens to be a matter of opinion. Some think we should fear the things that we are not afraid of mainly because they could hurt us. I’ll tell you what’s scary: not knowing whether or not a family member survived the attack. Not knowing if they will come home from the war. That is terror.

This war is not worth the death of more American citizens and soldiers. The search for Osama Bin Laden and his weapons of mass destruction has taken over seven years. We have not found him or his weapons. However, we have “freed” Iraq and hung Saddam Hussein under the guise of the War on Terror.

As a person who has been directly affected by this war, I am in firm belief that while the intentions of the War on Terror were in the mindset of protecting the American people, the war itself is a mistake. This declaration of war is a crime. It’s a crime against the memories of those we’ve lost, and the families who have lost loved ones for a cause that so many do not believe in or support.

Many families across our nation are not as lucky as mine. We were spared that pain and suffering because my father came back. There are countless family members and friends who will never come back, and now our government is punishing the survivors of this tragedy. The war has been a drain on our citizens and has caused much suffering in the lives of those military families who are separated.

The time has come to withdraw. Lives of the American people have been uprooted and put on eggshells for long enough. It’s time to reunite the families that have been separated for so long. Time to take care of our own people and time to decide what our country is really about. I would like to believe that the United States of America is a place that values the purity of family and can allow people to finally grieve about the tragedy that happened to it.

No one will ever forget what happed on Sept. 11, 2001 and on the days that followed. So many people gave their lives to help others in danger. Let the government finally realize the actual acts that mattered that day. The act of selflessness that we Americans shared for our brothers and sisters. It is this act of coming together that our government should focus on and not on the desire of revenge that has driven the stake between the different ideologies of our country regarding this war.