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Column: A look back at Sept. 11, a look at now
Matt Hopf/Columnist
Issue date: 9/11/08 Section: Opinions
I don't think I will ever forget what happened on Sept. 11, 2001. Many people would agree.
It was a day of chaos, and I still sometimes wonder if it really happened.
Four hijacked planes, one landmark in New York completely destroyed, a vital artery in Washington was heavily damaged and a plane crashed in rural Pennsylvania.
That was worse than any other disaster I could remember in my lifetime.
For the first time in my life, I did not see any planes above my house in the southwest suburbs of Chicago.
The tragedy changed us and it was evident that our country was vulnerable.
We had warnings - warnings we ignored. There was evidence that we were vulnerable to attacks.
The Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, the World Trade Center bombing in 1993 and even the mail bombs from Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, suggested that we were vulnerable to attack whether from foreign or domestic terrorists.
Today should be a day of remembrance to the thousands who died seven years ago, and to those who died for their country in Afghanistan and Iraq.
It should also be a day to remember that the United States is still vulnerable and despite what regulations are enacted, we should continue to live our lives.
Steps have been taken to ensure our safety in the sky.
Many of us may remember the extra screenings that occurred at the gate.
I remember the first flight I took after Sept. 11. I was screened multiple times with handheld metal detectors because the zippers on my pants set off the main detectors.
A couple years later on another flight, I was given a chair to sit in and told to take my shoes off.
On a flight back from Washington D.C. this past fall, I came across the new way of frisking passengers.
You stand in the middle of what looks like a metal detector, but are then sprayed with air and a computer then analyzes whether you have any objects anywhere on your body.
These help, along with additional security officers.
In the air, the cockpits of planes are completely locked down, and the presence of air marshals is always a possibility.
However, nothing is perfect and we need to remember that.
Keep in mind, there is no guarantee that a future terrorist attack will occur on a plane. It could happen on a train, bus, the street or to a random building.
Should we live in fear? No.
The only thing we can do is live our lives. We just need to be ordinary citizens.
If we see something completely out of the ordinary, we notify authorities.
The world we live in today may be different, but we still have a right and obligation to live our lives.
We should always remember Sept. 11, but we shouldn't live in fear.
Matt Hopf is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-7942 or at DENopinions@gmail.com.
It was a day of chaos, and I still sometimes wonder if it really happened.
Four hijacked planes, one landmark in New York completely destroyed, a vital artery in Washington was heavily damaged and a plane crashed in rural Pennsylvania.
That was worse than any other disaster I could remember in my lifetime.
For the first time in my life, I did not see any planes above my house in the southwest suburbs of Chicago.
The tragedy changed us and it was evident that our country was vulnerable.
We had warnings - warnings we ignored. There was evidence that we were vulnerable to attacks.
The Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, the World Trade Center bombing in 1993 and even the mail bombs from Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, suggested that we were vulnerable to attack whether from foreign or domestic terrorists.
Today should be a day of remembrance to the thousands who died seven years ago, and to those who died for their country in Afghanistan and Iraq.
It should also be a day to remember that the United States is still vulnerable and despite what regulations are enacted, we should continue to live our lives.
Steps have been taken to ensure our safety in the sky.
Many of us may remember the extra screenings that occurred at the gate.
I remember the first flight I took after Sept. 11. I was screened multiple times with handheld metal detectors because the zippers on my pants set off the main detectors.
A couple years later on another flight, I was given a chair to sit in and told to take my shoes off.
On a flight back from Washington D.C. this past fall, I came across the new way of frisking passengers.
You stand in the middle of what looks like a metal detector, but are then sprayed with air and a computer then analyzes whether you have any objects anywhere on your body.
These help, along with additional security officers.
In the air, the cockpits of planes are completely locked down, and the presence of air marshals is always a possibility.
However, nothing is perfect and we need to remember that.
Keep in mind, there is no guarantee that a future terrorist attack will occur on a plane. It could happen on a train, bus, the street or to a random building.
Should we live in fear? No.
The only thing we can do is live our lives. We just need to be ordinary citizens.
If we see something completely out of the ordinary, we notify authorities.
The world we live in today may be different, but we still have a right and obligation to live our lives.
We should always remember Sept. 11, but we shouldn't live in fear.
Matt Hopf is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-7942 or at DENopinions@gmail.com.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 4
GSane
GSane
posted 9/11/08 @ 2:07 PM CST
Thank you Mr. Hopf for a patriotic and thoughtful column in support of America. I am one of many who take our American citizenship for granted at times, and 9/11 is this generation's reminder that freedom does not come free. (Continued…)
Travis Bounds
posted 9/11/08 @ 3:53 PM CST
Certainly what happened on 9/11 was a horrible tragedy but i take issue with peope saying freedom isnt free. sure it is, people dont hate us because we have freedom they hate us because of cultural and political choices we do with that freedom. (Continued…)
GSane
GSane
posted 9/11/08 @ 7:16 PM CST
Agreed, I'm just saying that 9/11 is a reminder that freedom isn't free, not that freedom is the reason we were attacked. At the very heart of the issue though, freedom might just be the reason we were attacked, although it was not presented or stated that way by those who attacked us. (Continued…)
Tentatively Anonymous
posted 9/12/08 @ 1:58 AM CST
The attack on the United States seven years ago was a reaction by one political/religious faction to decades of US foreign policy and action. Although that policy has been markedly oppressive, imperialistic, and exploitive, the attacks were not justified--killing never really is. (Continued…)
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