Remember.

Today is September 11th.
Seven years ago some bad and scary stuff happened in my country.
Planes flew into buildings
People couldn't find their family members.
People chose their own manner of death by jumping out of windows rather than waiting for the inevitable.
A lot of people died.
We came to recognize that we are surrounded by heroes, from police officers to firefighters to people giving money and shelter to doggies wearing special shoes so they could walk on rubble to look for survivors.

Seven years ago I was in the eighth grade. I was 13 years old. I remember arriving in Mrs. Burns' history class, and she told us that a plane had flown into some building in New York that no one had ever heard of. She mentioned the name "Osama bin Laden", and said that she didn't know who he was either. We prayed for the people in New York without really knowing what was going on. Our class moved to the tiny library and stood in the back of the room, as Mr. Balty's high school class was sitting up front, crowded around the one little TV. When we got there we heard Mr. Balty whispering to Mrs Burns that another tower had been hit. I remember talking with my friend Alexa at lunch, and we wondered whether our nation would be going to war. We decided that if it came down to it, we would plant victory gardens.
I remember watching a lot of TV during the next few days. They showed the footage of smoke pouring from these buildings over and over. Sometimes they'd show a jumper. The reporters on the ground encountered people covered in thick gray dust. The reporters often asked if they were looking for any family, and I remember one man describing his wife or his girlfriend, what she had been wearing, and that she had long braids in her hair. I got pretty excited because a few hours earlier another network had spoken with a dazed woman who matched his description. Except she was so covered in dust from the buildings falling that you couldn't even tell the color of her skin.
I remember seeing the civilian footage after the first hit on the World Trade Center, the camera operator wondering aloud if the hit had been accidental, and hearing people scream as the second plane flew into the other tower. I remember seeing people running from the encroaching clouds of dirt, smoke, and debris.

I remember seeing a lot of American flags, and I think the newspaper even printed one that we cut out and taped in our living room window until we could get a real one. That paper flag stayed up for a long time. It eventually got pretty faded and we took it down.

I remember adding a "terror alert" system to our country's lexicon. And I remember when we actually took that seriously. We've been orange or yellow for years now. No one pays attention to that anymore.

Come to think of it, I don't remember ever seeing the little constantly scrolling news ticker at the bottom of the screen before 9/11, either.

I remember telethons and celebrity concerts honoring people in the armed forces and others, like those firefighters and police officers. I remember people being proud of our soldiers, and being willing to tell them so out loud in public.

People have been saying "We will never forget" all day on TV today. Like it's the official slogan. I didn't hear anyone mention it at school today. I didn't see any extra American flags, or yellow ribbons, or open displays of patriotism. I might not have realized that today was The Day if I hadn't had to check the calendar for something at work today. Apparently we have forgotten. And that's really sad. I don't care if you are a Republican or Democrat. I don't care if you like the President or the war(s) going on right now. I don't care what your political opinions are, what you think of Fox News or NBC. Seven years ago people died. Someone- some people- hated us enough to take our planes and fly them into buildings, killing thousands of people for no good reason (not that there's ever a "good" reason to kill a bunch of people, mind) and that's sad. Horrible. Heart-breaking. Terrifying. So, people booing John McCain right now on television, shut up. Get over yourselves. This is an insult to the memory of some 3,000 people who died seven years ago today, who were just going to work, or dropping their kids off at daycare, or delivering a package, or flying to see loved ones. Show some respect. Count your blessings, be thankful that it wasn't you or someone you know. Honor their memory by acting like an American tonight. Not a Democrat. Not a Republican. Election coverage and public humiliation can resume tomorrow- we've got time, the election is more than a month away. Give it a break. Just for tonight.