Nine Eleven
A Day Never To Be Forgotten
by Chloe Gibson
September 15, 2009
We all know what happened on the date of September 11, 2001. It was a day of complete tragedy. Some say that the terrorists committed their horrible crimes because they wanted to change America, and they did – just not how terrorists thought they would change America. America came together as one – uniting. Everyone was affected by this horrific incident as the people of our country became stronger supporters of the men and women in our armed forces. Prior to this, many of us took what the armed forces did for us for granted – and now we look to them with praise and respect, knowing all that they have done and continue to do to protect this great country of ours.
At Silver Lake High School, in the middle of the United States, some might say that we were not as affected as others on the East Coast. However, everyone in this country, and even those outside of the country, were affected. People all around us have relatives or significant others involved in the war on terror – here at Silver Lake, our Principal (Mr. Mahoney) and Science Teacher (Mr. Lemmerman) have defended our country in wars’ past. Hopefully, through personal experience, all of us have learned not to take those serving for granted as we realize what they have done for us to be free. Whether we knew someone that was killed in 9/11 or whether we have someone currently serving overseas for our country – or even preparing to defend our country right here in the U.S.A. - we continue to honor these men and women on a daily basis.
Here at Silver Lake, we shared a moment of silence on that 9/11 date, and you could have heard a pin drop in this school. For those few minutes, every student and staff member thought about everything that had happened in the past eight years and just how lucky they were to be standing here in this great country today in a class at Silver Lake – whether it was a class they liked or not – they knew were lucky to be living in America - truly the land of the free because of these men and women. Following this moment of silence, all students and staff said The Pledge Allegiance in unison, with honor, looking out at our flag at half-mast on the school grounds that day and truly understanding what it meant to be thankful to someone else for our freedom. I think I speak for everyone at Silver Lake when I say: THANK YOU!
