Osama's legacy

Like most Americans, I can clearly recall September 11, 2001. I was in high school at the time, a sophomore in fact, and I remember with perfect clarity standing in the courtyard that morning before going to class and looking up at the bluest sky I had ever seen. I thought it was a beautiful day and would be one of the last really beautiful days of summer, before the leaves turned brown and fell. Before the frost began coating the bus windows in the morning and making the grass sound like crunching snow. I remember looking up and feeling a clean, warm breeze. I had just turned 15 and life was pretty darn good.

I was in Algebra when I heard. I remember the feelings of uncertainty and worry and dread when one of the girls from my class rushed to the front office to call her family because her brother was in the Army and was stationed at the Pentagon. The teachers were scared as well. They wanted to watch the news but they were afraid for us to watch the news. Despite the fact that many of us had a driver's license, had facial hair, had bank accounts and part-time jobs, we were only children. We should be protected. Throughout first and second periods there were updates. Teachers were congregating in the hallways and discussing what was going on. Students went to the office to call their parents and check on loved ones. Some teachers would let their students know what was going on. (This was before everyone had a smart phone, Twitter or Facebook of course.)

I remember it was all that any one could talk about the rest of the day. The students whose teachers were a bit more relaxed had seen the news and were spreading it like wildfire. And of course, in typical high school gossip style, it was bigger and wilder and worse with every telling. I remember hearing that we were at war. I remember hearing that all the men and boys would be drafted. I remember hearing that the colleges were sending everyone home before they drafted them. I remember hearing that North Carolina was worried about the propane fields and that the National Guard had been deployed to protect them. There were some wild stories before the final bell rang at 2:45 p.m.

As soon as I got home I turned on NBC news. No particular reason, NBC was just the typical news channel for us. They replayed over and over the towers collapsing and footage from the Pentagon. I sat in the living room in front of the television all afternoon and evening listening to new reports come in about the plane going down in Pennsylvania and the few survivors that were located at Ground Zero. I can still hear Katie Couric's voice talking about what had happened and hear the uncertainty and stress in the undercurrents as new bits came in. One of the most poignant memories for me from that day was watching as all the members of Congress came together and sang God Bless America. It was a touching moment of unity and solidarity and our strong will to stand together and defend our country.

It was a day that will be etched in my memory. It's my generation's version of the day Kennedy was shot or the Challenger explosion. It was the day that the world changed.

As a nation, that day dramatically changed our attitude towards the rest of the world. We became suspicious of all things foreign. We were angry and defensive. We developed a lot of hatred. The last decade has been a decade of war. Ten years of seeing guys and girls I went to high school with go to the Middle East and either not come back or come back far different than who they were. George W. Bush's War on Terror has defined nearly half of my life. It has been an article in every newspaper, an update every news day, a hot topic of every political debate. Afghanistan. Iraq. Iran. Pakistan. The Middle East. The Muslim nations.

In the last ten years I have heard so many outrageous statements made about Muslims and the Islamic religion. How angry the religion is, how hateful its believers are, how much all Muslims hate America and how all Muslims should die. And the same people will admit that they don't even know a thing about the religion. They don't know who Muhammad is to the Muslims or what the Seven Pillars of Islam are. They don't know what the Muslim holy day is, where Mecca is, what the Koran is or how much Islam has in common with Christianity. But they know that Muslims are evil. Right...

This is what terrorism has done. This is Osama bin Laden's true legacy. And one that hasn't ended with his death. It lives on. The anger and hatred. People refuse to be open-minded anymore. They don't want anything to do with those old towel heads from the Middle East. And it's getting to where they don't want much to do with us either. Anger only breeds more anger and more anger until we're all eaten alive with it.

I admit to feeling anger and outrage and fear towards bin Laden. I resent what he did to our country 10 years ago. And all the deaths that he is responsible for before and since 9-11. But I feel no closure from his death. I hope that those who lost loved ones nearly a decade ago got some closure from the news. From our government finally fulfilling Bush's promise to make those responsible pay.

I feel no closure because nothing has really changed. Sure the man is dead. But his followers are not. And they probably feel an even greater determination and surety than before since we have eliminated their leader. And yes, our enemy is vanquished. But war wages on. This is Osama bin Laden's legacy.

It is an American victory to have finally killed Osama bin Laden. But it's a victory that fails to fill me with any joy. Hearing of his death made me reflect on the last 10 years and as a result I'm filled with more sadness than accomplishment. I'm sad for what our nation and our people have been through. I'm sad of how many innocents have suffered as a result of our rage. And I find it hard to be optimistic about the next 10 years.

This September 11 will mark the 10 year anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks and I hope that our military's accomplishment on May 1 makes the day a little easier for those whose lives continue to have voids from that day. I hope that this accomplishment has given our country the closure that it needs to heal and move on. I hope that from here on we can be less angry, less fearful and less antagonistic. For my children's sake I hope that in 10 more years the world will truly be a safer, happier place. I hope and I pray.