American history Essay Example for Free

the Statesn history EssayIn American history, there discombobulate been numerous instances in which a greater degree of damage and death which visited out shores. In the three day battle of Gettysburg, more than 51,000 s grey-headediers fell. (Burns, 1989) The invasion of France on June 6, 1944 took more than 6,000 lives. Pearly Harbor claimed more than 2300 lives and introduced Americans to a war that would take more than 400,000 lives. However, the events which transpired on September 11, 2001 impart always serve as unitary of the defining moments for those who lived through it. As with the assassin ion of John F.Kennedy was to our parents generation, September 11, 2001 will be for our generation. The news is fill with a multitude of calamities. The Asian tsunami in declination of 2004 which claimed 200,000 lives or any number of events which take a toll on the human population, due to the fact that the evening news is saturated with events which should horror us yet whic h real dont as we have become apathetic against its stimulus, there are sometimes, national tragedies which affect the average American in ways that are hard to explain and fathom for those who are on the outside and looking in.This was the case for Natasha capital of Mississippi a 27 year old African American female who lost two family members on September 11. For her, the day is more than just a time to rally behind the multitude and to take time out of ones day to remember those who died. For Natasha Jackson, 9/11 does not stop except continues 365 days a year. Natasha Jackson grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. Her have was a police chief in DuPage County Illinois. Natasha was in college while the events of September 11 were transpiring. At the end of her 8am class, which ended at 915, and upon walking to her contiguous class, she was overhear some talk more or less a major news event.She did not realize exactly what had happened until the professor in her next class, told her and the rest of the class what had happened. All of the details would not be known until months and years later. However, by the time the second plane hit the tower, it had become intelligible that this was no accident. We had hoped that all of the more than 50,000 people, who, on a daily basis, worked in the Twin looms, would have been able to vacate the building while it was still standing. This was not the case for nearly 3,000 people who perished when the towers fell.(Burns, 2003) Since I had not known anybody in New York or who were on those planes that were hijacked, I was glad that as for me, the event did not take any of my loved ones. However, I knew that was not the case for thousands of families across the country. America was now at war to defeat bratwurstism and this would take an additive four thousands American lives to date with more casualties being reported daily. I did not know that the events of September 11 would affect somebody so windup to me as I wou ld eventually find out to be the case.Towards the end of September, 2001, as clean up crews were still busy picking up the perverted metal from the site of Ground Zero and plans for a strike against Iraq were being discussed, I learned that two of Natashas relatives, were not only affected by 9/11, exclusively were actually killed when the first tower fell. It was something that was hard to realize had hit so close to home even when it was not my relatives that had been affected. More than sextette years later, Natasha sat down to talk to me about the events of that day and what she felt then as well as now. Natasha commented That day is one that I will neer forget for as long as I live. I was horrified by what I saw on television. However, my reaction was one filled with a bit more pan outic than my classmates who were watching the same thing as I was. I knew that my aunt, Marilyn Jackson worked in Tower One at Canter Fitzgerald. I would later find out that nearly 800 employee s of that firm would die on September 11. (Burns, 2003) When chooseed exactly what her initial reaction was, Natasha still finds it unwieldy to accurately explain what she was feeling. I though that I was seeing a movie and that the events in New York was an examples of special effects or something. I really didnt know what to think.I sat transfixed at what I was seeing and I didnt get around to calling my father until a couple hours after the towers fell. I just didnt know how to react. In the immediate hours after the first tower fell, I actually ran into Natasha. We were not our brisk self for obvious reasons and I assumed that it was due to the events in New York, Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon earlier that day. I did not think to ask Natasha if she had known anybody who was killed that day. I knew that she had always had a love affair with New York and hoped to complete her Masters Degree at New York University one day.I did not know that she had two relatives who lived there in the city. Natasha then explained what her immediate actions were in the hours following the destruction of the first tower and then the second. I called my father to ask him the whereabouts of my aunt. He said that he didnt know and that he would not know for some time. Not only was the event very chaotic, but the fact that he was a police chief in a Chicago suburb, his force went on high alert as there was rumors that The Sears Tower might be targeted. People didnt know what to think.Everything was a mess. I was a mess as well. I pride myself on being a rational and independent person. I never get anxious but am rather calm and have a strong demeanor. That day, I was not able to contain my composure which only compounded my feelings of anxiety as I did not know how to gather my thoughts. Natasha then comments on the time when she heard that her aunt was missing and then, a few days later, opined to be dead. The next few days, nobody knew where my aunt or many of the oth er were. I waited by my phone and could not go to class.I tried to separate myself from the various news accounts as there was no shortage of coverage on television. I tried to go for a walk or to go and work out. My attempts did not come to fruition and it only served as a momentary fault from the inner pain and confusion that I was feeling. Eight days later, I received a call from my father who told me that my aunt was probably dead and the supposition of there being any survivors of the attack from those who were in the towers at the time it fell, was very unlikely. The country would later learn that there would not be a single survivor from the fall of the Twin Towers.It seemed unlikely, even before being told that was the case, that anybody could survive that. I still held out hope until I received that call. The terror that Natasha would feel, would not be confined to only the loss of her aunt, who alone, would be more than anybody could really fathom. What served as a sour ce of added stress, not only was Natashas aunt murdered on 9/11, but so too was her uncle. The aunt was from her fathers side and her uncle came from her mothers side. Gerald Smith was a fire-eater and one of the 343 New York City firefighters who died trying to save others in the Twin Towers.(Burns, 2003) It is really hard to fathom such a combination punch that guide and evil people gave to our family. I had been close to my uncle as a child but when he moved to New York, we lost touch. However, as it is the case with close people, those who touch their lives as a child, even though communications might have dropped off, they still reside in an important part of that persons heart. I had not known that my uncle was still a New York firefighter. However, when my mother called me, not more than two days after being told that my aunt had died, I was told that my uncle died as well.There are no words that could describe what I felt that week. I could not go to class, I barely ate an d did not take any visitors at all for the rest of the year. If somebody told me that they I had their condolences and that they understood how I felt, I was so angry inside, that I had to restrain myself from precisely punching them in the face. And I am not a violent person by any means. I have strong opinions but usually delight in others and would much rather avoid an insulting argument than to engage in one. I just became a very angry and bitter person. In perspective, I asked Natasha how she now viewed 9/11 and all of the ramifications that it has now had for the country. I have considered myself a Democrat for most of my life. However, even though the war in Iraq has been mishandled on a dozen different fronts, I become so angry when I hear politicians from both political parties proclaim that we should simply leave Iraq and that terrorist act is really not worth fighting. It seems to me that since America is a very disposable society, people have forgotten what happened o n 9/11.I will never forget seeing people jumping 1000 feet to their deaths while the towers burned. When I hear reports of Glasgow, London, Bali and Madrid being victims of more terrorist attacks from a small portion of the Moslem community who have been steered the wrong way, I become very frustrated. Does one have to lose two members of their family in a terrorist attack to remember that America is a very dangerous place and that there are millions of people who would love to attack this country. I still am a Democrat and believe in the principles of the party.I just feel so frustrated, as does most Americans, about the level of unity and as a result, progress that is being achieved in this area. Natasha spent most of the Fall of 2001, dealing with the deaths of her family members. Since there were no remains that were found of both my aunt and uncle, I really didnt know what to do. I still go to their grave sites but I know that their body is not there. In time, the body would slowly disappear but I wanted to have the same experience that anybody would want who receive some comfort in visiting the gravesite of their loved ones.At least, I wanted to experience that but have been unable to. However, I feel additionally cheated by the fact that the only place where I can visit my aunt and uncle is in my mind. When asked, Natasha speaks about her life since 9/11. I eventually graduated college and even though my plans to receive my Masters Degree at New York University did not pan out, I still feel close to that city and always will. I went to Boston to work for the Democratic National Convention in the months leading up to the 2004 election. With a degree in political science, I always have been politically aware of my surroundings.I knew that I needed to expand my sphere of figure out beyond college and felt that my effort in the DNC, although not successful, still did prove some good. I honored my aunt and uncle in that respect. It was a trying but su ccessful time for me as I actually got to meet President Clinton while dining at a restaurant in Boston. I walked up to both him and his wife Hillary and introduced myself beyond the Secret Service and Mr. Clinton actually said that he had heard that we were doing good work. Perhaps that was just lip service but it was a great honor for me nevertheless.