Dear Editor,

This month marked the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Twenty years ago, almost 3000 people died after terrorists hijacked four planes and flew them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and almost the Capitol Building.  Words will never properly describe the horror all who could understand felt that day from seeing the people falling off the roof to the shocking moments the towers fell.

Some may worry that we will forget that day, but the truth is that the horrors of it changed the world forever. To this day, airports are still screened by the TSA and the Patriot Act shows no sign of being repealed. The surveillance state that was created to prevent another one has never left us so there are children in this world that never knew nor remember a world where that was not the case. Even if society does not remember the event, it will always feel its impact.

What we must never forget though is the response we as Americans had when disaster fell upon us. In that moment alone, the brave people on Flight 93 fought back against hijackers and stopped the plane from crashing into the Capitol Building, even at the cost of their wives. Afterward, charitable donations and nonprofits increased nationally as Americans united, knowing all lives mattered and that our squabbles seemed pretty small comparatively. That sense of national pride and love for our neighbors is what we must never forget as we honor the fallen.

Brett Heinisch
Syracuse