September 11, 2024
In nearly a quarter century since the Twin Towers collapsed, after being hit with airplanes hijacked by terrorists, a lot has changed. Looking at the Downtown skyline we now see the Freedom Tower looming over its neighbors as the Original WTC once did. All of the dust covered and closed off streets have been long ago cleaned up and fully opened again. And this year, like each one since the attack, the day will be commemorated at Ground Zero with the reading of names of family members, friends, and neighbors taken away from us far too soon. Elected officials will speak and religious figures will offer prayers. Across the City, many people will probably talk about that day and what they were doing when the planes hit. A lot of people who were alive in 2001 are gone now, from both 9/11 related and un-related causes, and a many others have been born since.
In fact, more than one out of three New Yorkers are under 29 years old. The oldest of them were in 4th grade when the attack happened. They can probably recall the day pretty well. But what about their younger brothers and sisters? A New Yorker who’s 25 today would have been just 2 years old on that day. As time goes by, more and more people won’t recall it because they were too young or weren’t born yet. It’ll be another historical fact, like The Great Depression or the Civil War. People of any era can read up on those topics and on 9/11 too, but the knowledge they’ll gain is different from the understanding that those who lived through them will have.
So this year, as we honor the people who responded to the attack and remember the ones who went to work that morning and never came home, let’s pause and recall that awful day. Let’s recognize that for us, the over 30 year olds, 9/11 isn’t just an entry in a History book. It’s History itself. And we lived through it. We lived through every awful hour of that indescribably awful day and through all the days that followed, and for a long time afterwards. Not everyone walking around downtown this morning can remember what it looked like 23 years ago. But we can, and we do.
