September 11th - Our Children Aren't Really Remembering
Carlos Estrella
September 09, 2006
With the exception of a few weeks before and after the anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, you would be hard pressed to find a high schooler or younger person who could tell you what happened on September 11th. Worst, the answers you get range from the benign to the ridiculous. We’re not educating our children on events that directly affect them even if they’re not from Shankville, PA, Northern Virginia or the New York Metropolitan Area.
Upon interviewing a dozen pre-teens in Southern California as well as kids in Florida and elsewhere, the answers to the question, “do you know anything about what happened on September 11th” were interesting to say the least. Answers like, “that’s when those buildings got hit by the planes,” and, “yea, that Osama guy bombed New York,” were typical. Others, including children in the shadows of the former Towers (northern New Jersey and Long Island to be precise) said things like “yea… my dad told me that those Arabs attacked us and we need to kick their (butts),” and even, “uh huh… I know… the terrorists blew up the White House.” Needless to say, the kids of this generation know SOMETHING happened but don’t have all of the facts.
Truth be told, not all adults know the details of “September 11th” and even fewer know, understand or even care to know the nuances that can adequately explain the world at that time, which in turn gives some sense of understanding in how such a thing could happen in America. However, the lack of knowledge among our young people is indicative of a greater problem than is currently realized by most people: this generation will permit the failures of our generation to continue unabated unless they are educated properly and shown how to prevent such things in the future.
Rather than a two or three page item in the new history books, a “living history” needs to be shown to them. Not a graphic representation that will scar them as deeply as those who experienced it firsthand, but rather talks, explanations and maybe some actual footage, sanitized for their age groups, showing survivors and victims families talking about the events of that day. Something as simple as explaining how beautiful a day it was in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Northern Virginia, and how that day was infected with the evil of terrorism (the “players,” the philosophies, etc.) would suffice.
This author witnessed firsthand, the evils of that day, as I was only across the Hudson River, watching with horror from the Marriott Glenpointe as the Towers fell. A landmark I saw as a child, teen and young adult was gone. As a young Marine, those Towers were symbols I protected as strongly and as reverently as the Flag, God and Country. Now, as a father, I believe that those missing yet ever-present symbols of much more than capitalism need to be more than a footnote in a history book to our children, and the Pentagon much more than an item in a kid’s video game collection. Heroism like that of the rescue workers, survivors and especially the passengers of United Flight 93 needs to be taught, promoted, encouraged and nurtured if we are to have a society worth protecting, and the perils in the world that led to the attack itself need to be explained and alternatives given to our young people. Don’t let our children suffer the same ignorance that permitted such an attack to happen.
Upon interviewing a dozen pre-teens in Southern California as well as kids in Florida and elsewhere, the answers to the question, “do you know anything about what happened on September 11th” were interesting to say the least. Answers like, “that’s when those buildings got hit by the planes,” and, “yea, that Osama guy bombed New York,” were typical. Others, including children in the shadows of the former Towers (northern New Jersey and Long Island to be precise) said things like “yea… my dad told me that those Arabs attacked us and we need to kick their (butts),” and even, “uh huh… I know… the terrorists blew up the White House.” Needless to say, the kids of this generation know SOMETHING happened but don’t have all of the facts.
Truth be told, not all adults know the details of “September 11th” and even fewer know, understand or even care to know the nuances that can adequately explain the world at that time, which in turn gives some sense of understanding in how such a thing could happen in America. However, the lack of knowledge among our young people is indicative of a greater problem than is currently realized by most people: this generation will permit the failures of our generation to continue unabated unless they are educated properly and shown how to prevent such things in the future.
Rather than a two or three page item in the new history books, a “living history” needs to be shown to them. Not a graphic representation that will scar them as deeply as those who experienced it firsthand, but rather talks, explanations and maybe some actual footage, sanitized for their age groups, showing survivors and victims families talking about the events of that day. Something as simple as explaining how beautiful a day it was in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Northern Virginia, and how that day was infected with the evil of terrorism (the “players,” the philosophies, etc.) would suffice.
This author witnessed firsthand, the evils of that day, as I was only across the Hudson River, watching with horror from the Marriott Glenpointe as the Towers fell. A landmark I saw as a child, teen and young adult was gone. As a young Marine, those Towers were symbols I protected as strongly and as reverently as the Flag, God and Country. Now, as a father, I believe that those missing yet ever-present symbols of much more than capitalism need to be more than a footnote in a history book to our children, and the Pentagon much more than an item in a kid’s video game collection. Heroism like that of the rescue workers, survivors and especially the passengers of United Flight 93 needs to be taught, promoted, encouraged and nurtured if we are to have a society worth protecting, and the perils in the world that led to the attack itself need to be explained and alternatives given to our young people. Don’t let our children suffer the same ignorance that permitted such an attack to happen.