AwkwardRules

I was driving home from Adams High for lunch when some random person on the road in my subdivision yelled something to me. I thought he was just complaining about me driving too fast so I ignored him and drove on. Me and a few friends had an hour and a half lunch during senior year because we were taking a math class at Oakland, so me and Greg used to go play disc golf every day and make lunch at my place. I got home and made myself a nice sandwich and turned on the TV. They were showing the World Trade Centers with smoke billowing out of massive fires. I thought at first that it was just a replay of the ‘93 attack. Then they showed the towers collapsing, and I realized that this was something new. I remember hoping that it was not a terrorist from the United States, like what happened at Oklahoma City.

A lot of sad things have happened in our country since then. A lot of people were scared into accepting dangerous changes in our government like the Patriot Act and torture. Immediately after the attacks, a lot of Muslims and even Sikhs were assaulted and abused. I remember seeing my Sikh friend Jaspal a few weeks after the attacks in the library, and he had gotten rid of his turban. I didn’t realize why at first, but when I did I felt very sad and disappointed. The way the September 11th attacks have been used as a way to shield the government from criticism has been sickening. One of my favorite quotes is,

“It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority.”

— Benjamin Franklin

I think we strayed too far from this idea over the past 5 years.

However, I must say that I think overall most people in this country were reasonable. Things could have been a lot worse. Remember what happened in WWII with Japanese Americans? Or even Germany when they were threatened by a destroyed economy, struggles between different political groups, and a lack of direction.

Me and Sharat (my cousin) visited the World Trade Center site last night. There were two pillars of light reaching upwards through the night sky from battery park. People around the site were very quiet. A few people told stories of how they survived the attack and how they were coping with the loss of the towers. The site is strange to see during the day. As you walk toward, the first thing you notice is that there is a lot of light. Normally skyscrapers block a lot of sunlight and the only areas that are open and sunny are the parks. But instead of a park, there is a giant hole.

I remember talking to a nice guy on the subway on the way back from work. He was a musician living in Brooklyn. He told me how he was thinking of moving out of NYC because of the threat of terrorist attack. I was thinking in my mind how the odds of being killed in a terrorist attack in New York are probably a lot less than the odds of being hit by a car. But as I continued to listen to him I realized there was something more than just the cold hard facts. I can’t imagine how it must have felt for New Yorkers to see part of their skyline disappear.

I hope that anyone who lost someone in the attack has gained some measure of peace since. I think there is much to be hopeful for, and that we can do much greater and better things to honor the memories of those lost than what we have done so far.

-Vikas

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