58) Aftershock

With over nine years gone from that fateful day in New York, people still cringe at 9/11 and its repercussions. Everybody remembers where they were that day. More importantly, they remember the years afterward.

I was in elementary school when it happened, and I can still remember the absence of cartoons after school that day. I realized all the channels were filled with Bush's face, speaking in words I could barely grasp.

My teacher could barely understand it himself when we asked him about it. We were huddled in a circle, and he spent the entire period fielding questions with a shock I was not old enough to understand.

How long we've all come since then.

A failing economy, a war nobody wants, and the very ideals of an American constitution strained. Life does go on, but nobody is willing to admit that things are alright. They're not. Everything is quickly spiraling out of control, and the prospect of recovery seems nearly impossible.

So when we look back on 9/11, it is much more than just casualties and suicide bombers. It is a symbol of a united America, a justification for all that we have done in the past decade. It is the origin for most national issues we harbor today, and will foreshadow what the next decade we live in.

Such a symbol will never die. The innocent victims have become martyrs of American ideals, and people will accept no less. A national holiday has been designated for 9/11, simply known as Patriot Day.

Let's get one thing clear: people die everyday. There are only two reasons why we remember select individuals:

1) They accomplished something life-changing/memorable in their lifetime.

2) They died for a memorable cause.

What did the victims of 9/11 die for? A war fought in their honor? A ravaged economy? A divided America?

What would they think of America today?