Plane crash in New York reminder of 9/11
My heart literally sunk and my stomach churned at the images of a burning apartment building in New York. It was reminiscent of five years ago, when I instantly feared for my children’s future and shed uncontrollable tears for innocent civilians and emergency workers who lost their lives in the worst terrorist attacks ever to hit American soil. The world changed on 9/11. I changed.
Learning that a small aircraft had crashed into a high rise in the Big Apple today at 2:45 p.m. (EST) was a scare, but my hardened heart from past wounds was not so much as in shock as it was angry that once again America was targeted – or was it?
The FBI said there's no indication that the plane was flown intentionally into the 50-story building, although federal agents were sent to the scene. The Pentagon didn’t take any chances. Fighter jets scrambled over U.S. cities as a precaution.
Later this afternoon, the pilot of the plane was revealed. I felt sorrow for the loss of New York Yankee’s pitcher Cory Lidle and his flight instructor who died in what appears to be an accident. I also felt guilt for being angry. I’m probably not the only one to question the images flashed across the TV screen, Internet and on the news wires for print media as another terrorist attack. Especially since the U.S. is at a crossroads with North Korea and their nuclear tests while still being entrenched in wars abroad.
The guilt comes from the lack of trust I have in our government and its ability to protect its citizens. I’ve realized from this unfortunate incident that I’ve acquired skepticism and disbelief over the years since 9/11 that homeland security is effective and useful. I’ve never been this insecure before, but I have no comfort in the protective arms of the FBI, CIA, homeland security and federal government.
I want to regain that sense of security I once had. However, after attending the debate between Sen. Orrin Hatch and Democrat candidate Pete Ashdown, I’m not so sure that will ever happen again. Both men seemed passionate about serving the American people, but both men did not give me any assurance that the future would hold any less vice.
The challenges are getting more cumbersome and complex. I feel hopeless. What can I do? It’s a sad day for baseball. It’s a tragic day New York. In my own little microcosm here in Southern Utah, I’m devastated by the fact that I’m not the same person I once was, full of hope and optimism. I’m cynical and suspicious. That makes me angry. That’s why I’m expelling that negative energy out in this blog. Any one care to join me?
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Did you know that the woman whose apartment was hit by the Yankee pitcher's plane was the very same one who was hit on the head by a falling lamp post when a Cat in the Hat balloon broke free from it's handlers during the 1997 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade? She spent 24 days in a coma, and 9 years later her apartment is hit by a plane..the engine was found only feet from her bed. Can you imagine what has happened to her sense of safety and security? Freak accidents falling from the sky- a coincidence so unlikely that if I were her I might think the city itself was after me!
Posted by: Damien | October 14, 2006 06:53 PM