Guest column

By Rena Valentino
Arts &Sciences Senior

We all have our own memories and stories of the day. The day that changed our nation, our minds and our way of life forever. Almost every generation has had a day like this, and this was ours: Sept. 11, 2001.

Perhaps you were in class, maybe between classes. Maybe you were just arriving to school, or if you lived on the West Coast, you may have woken up to the news. None of us will forget, as our grandparents haven’t forgotten Pearl Harbor, and our parents haven’t forgotten President Kennedy’s assassination.

That morning, I never thought those moments would affect us all as much as they have. I will now admit, although I regret it, that when my friend announced to my second period American History class that the World Trade Center and Pentagon had been hit by planes, I asked myself, “What buildings?” I realize now I was not alone, and many of my peers were asking themselves the same question.

Before this day, the Pentagon, our nation’s headquarters of the Department of Defense, wasn’t a topic often mentioned by our generation. The name Osama bin Laden meant nothing to us; what issues were there in the Middle East, except for the area being our oil source? We were naïve, but not by our own fault. We had an excuse for the lack of knowledge, as no one taught us there were resentments of our Western culture abroad.

However, we no longer have those excuses. The effects of 9/11 continue to have an impact on us, as we still fight for freedom with our own troops in the Middle East.

It’s been five years since that infamous day, but every day the fight continues, even if it’s not in our own backyard. Just because the anniversary of “the day” has passed, it doesn’t mean it’s time to bring in our flags. Keep them waving proud, flying free.