A special September 11 message from BigGameLottery.com and Lottery Post
It is vividly etched in each of our minds -- where we were, what we were doing, how we felt -- when the terrorists struck our nation one year ago. The tragedy was so terrible, the pain so deep, it is difficult to understand the meaning. Our country will recover, but we will never be the same.
I believe that the important themes of this anniversary, and those to come, are Remembrance, Reflection, and Resolve.
Remembrance: No matter how the news portays the dvents, and how they attempt to "filter" what you see, no matter how painful the memory, never forget those awful moments. Don't forget how you felt as you saw the smoke billowing from the gaping hole in the north tower, wondering what just happened. Don't forget the shock and horror you felt as you watched on live television as the second plane flew into the south tower. The sudden devastating feeling that our country was under attack, and that we were not safe. And never forget the feeling of anger and emptiness as you watched the towers fall and change the skyline of this country's largest city changed forever. All perpetrated by the cowardly hate mongers who hide like roaches in countries run by dictators.
Reflection: Take time out of the day to think about the dvents of a year ago, all that has happened since, how your feelings have changed, and what we should do. Why did this happen? Don't blame yourself, don't blame our country, don't blame our policies. Remember that there is no reason -- ever -- to attack innocent civilians. There is evil in this world, and it has been a long time since it has shown itself this clearly. Because many of us have never witnessed evil like this before, we don't know what to make of it. A first reaction might be to fall back on one of this country's unfortunate tendencies: blame ourselves, feel guilty for the actions of others. It is a feeling reinforced in the media and spoken by the loud few, but trust your gut feelings and talk openly to friends: we are not at fault and we need to stop the people who are.
Resolve: This country has proven over the past year that we can turn anger into action. We quickly and decisively destroyed the regime responsible for hosting much of the terrorist network. We cleaned up the wreckage in New York and rebuilt the Pentagon. Now we must continue our reaction to terrorism in its other hiding places in the world. As the flags are lowered from our cars and houses, we must remain steadfast in our determination to erradicate terrorism wherever it exists. We can look the our country's history in World War II for inspiration and guidance. We stood on the sidelines until the enemy brought the fight to our soil. But once they did, we did not shrink from our attackers, and we did not stop until the evil was erradicated all around the world.
On this first anniversary of the September 11 tragedy, I wish each of you stength and clarity.
Your Webmaster,
Todd
