Friday commemorated the 25th anniversary ofterrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. I will never forget where I was 25 years ago.
It started as any other Tuesday on the beautiful campus of The University of Evansville (UE).
I had an 8 a.m. education class and in this particular class, all of the other sections were combined to watch a film that featured a keynote presentation by Dr. Harry Wong.
Then, the Chair of the Education Department pulled the professors out of class for some reason. After everyone, including the Education Department Chair, reentered the room, we were told of the terrorist attacks in New York and a possible one at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
All of us froze. For the first time in a while, I had no thoughts.
I certainly could not focus on the presented film or truly anything else. Neither could anyone else.
There was, though, a sense of concern throughout the auditorium-style classroom. While most of the students were from the country’s Midwest, not everyone was.
As with any university, students across the globe may be attracted to attend and UE was no different. Now, in that silent, large classroom, education majors – especially those from the East Coast – sat and could only wonder.
Once class ended, my roommate Alex and I returned to our dorm and as we entered into the TV room, it was filled to maximum capacity.
It was as if all of the dorm residents were in that room watching the news replay Flight 11 hitting the World Trade Center’s North Tower and Flight 175 smashing into the South Tower. It was not long after the South Tower collapsed on the live broadcast.
Again, I remember feeling angry but at the same time sad. As we came to find out, close to 3,000 innocent lives were killed. Those are nearly 3,000 people who went to work that morning but never returned home. Killed because they were Americans.
My mother called at some point that day to check on me and my father was on the train but he told me the trains were stopped for a while. My grandparents watched the news and could not believe it. I returned my mother’s phone call and we chatted for just a few minutes because I had to take an exam in my afternoon class.
I watched President George W. Bush’s address to the nation but still could not feel anything. My roommate Alex and I attended a candlelight vigil in Memorial Plaza – which was dedicated to the 1977 plane crash carrying the men’s basketball team. It was a solemn service and something we all needed.
The next day, I had a full slate of morning classes, which I did not miss. Those classes were filled with sadness and confusion, for sure, and I looked to my professors for some wise words.
But it was not what they said per se that stuck with me; rather the theme of persistence and perseverance.
That America does not fall backward; America persists and perseveres. It never stops. The story of America is of wonder and while we hit bumps in the road – sometimes even fall into a ravine off the road – we keep going forward.
That is what I learned from 9/11. Our freedoms, without question, were attacked.
Those terrorists undeniably did not like the fact that girls get an education, an interracial couple hold hands, anyone can worship whomever and whenever, and women can lead in the U.S. Those characteristics make our country strong not weak and those who hate us, particularly hate that.
And yes, President Bush’s actions along with Congress’ will be judged by history, but make no mistake, nothing in the world can take the place of persistence as said by former President Calvin Coolidge.
For it is during these times, I am motivated by the fact that persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
We cannot, however, forget what happened on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. It is a day etched in our memories and visiting Ground Zero should be something all Americans do. While we remember this somber day, let us also not forget America’s story does not end there.
Drew Landry is an assistant professor of government at South Plains College. His views do not necessarily represent those of SPC.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Drew Landry reflects on 9/11 and when our freedoms were attacked
