Because We Are Americans

by Jesse Kornbluth

  As the wife of an Army Vietnam veteran and years later an Air Force veteran, the sister of a Naval Vietnam veteran, daughter of an Army WWII veteran, and niece of Army and Naval WWII veterans, I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!

  “We are going to rebuild. We need a living, breathing sign to the rest of the world that this is not going to crush us.”

  —NANCY PLOEGER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE MANHATTAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, Newsday 9/13/2001

  FROM AN AOL POST, 9/16/2001 12:40 AM EDT

  SUBJECT: TO ALL THOSE IN UNIFORM

  I wear a green uniform.

  I was not born here on American soil, but I can only thank America for letting me have the chance to be able to grow up and live in peace and harmony. As I put on my uniform each morning, I think “Why did I join the armed forces?” And the answer is this: I gave up my own freedom so others may enjoy it.

  I ask America—though we have lost loved ones, I ask that you do not hate. This is not what America believes in.

  “Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.”

  —THOMAS PAINE, The American Crisis #4

  FROM AN AOL POST, 9/23/2001 2:06 PM EDT

  SUBJECT: I USED TO BE ANTI-WAR

  I spent the late sixties and early seventies protesting war. I spent the eighties and nineties, realizing freedom comes at a price, but secretly thankful women can’t be drafted. Now, in 2001, I realize that if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.

  If they need a 41-year-old RN, I’m going.

  I wasn’t lucky enough to have children, but I want to help keep America free for the children growing up now.

  “Is this not just another one of those moments when America has been challenged, and will rise again?”

  —RICHARD A. GRASSO, CHAIRMAN OF THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE, The New York Times 9/17/2001

  FROM AN AOL POST, 9/13/2001 9:28 PM EDT

  SUBJECT: 21ST-CENTURY MARTYRS

  Ours is now the next “greatest generation” in the making. We will have to stand up to unimaginable horror and challenges from madmen whom we cannot easily identify.

  Above all else, I know that we shall overcome because we are the seed of those brave and hardy souls that forged this country and protected it from all the demons of the past. We are of many colors, beliefs and also human frailties, but together we are an indomitable force.

  We may all call God by a different name or no name at all . . . but each one of us has learned in this free society that God’s true name is love.

  “O Beautiful, for patriots’ dream,

  That sees beyond the years

  The Alabaster cities gleam

  Undimmed by human tears!”

  —KATHARINE LEE BATES, “AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL”

  TRANSFORMED

  “Today, the world is not the same as it was yesterday. If we are the same as we were yesterday, then it is pure folly.”

  —RABBI YAAKOV PERLOW, The New York Times 9/17/2001

  FROM AN AOL POST, 9/20/2001 3:16 PM EDT

  SUBJECT: I AM CHANGED FOREVER

  I thought that I was already appreciative of my life and the blessings and privileges we share as Americans. But this horrible tragedy has brought me to an even deeper understanding of all the wonderful joys of our life, here in the greatest nation on earth—I feel everything more deeply than ever.

  My heart is broken for the families of the dead, missing, and injured. I mourn with them as if it were my own family, because we ARE all family. Yes, as a nation, we have our faults and we have made many tragic mistakes in the past . . . . but now I think I truly understand the incredible sacrifices made by our parents, grandparents, and forefathers to create this amazing country of America. I hope we all understand it more.

  Most importantly, we must not let this newfound sense of purpose fade away as the weeks go by. We truly must all stick together. We must maintain our resolve. We must show the world that nothing can defeat us, no matter how horrible. We must care for each other, and improve our country and ourselves . . . for our children, for posterity, and especially as a tribute to all those who died, that they didn’t die for nothing.

  “One Nation, under God, with Liberty and Justice for all” . . . now more than ever.

  FROM AN AOL POST, 9/20/2001 3:46 PM EDT

  SUBJECT: RE: I AM CHANGED FOREVER

  I agree with you one hundred and ten percent. Never before have I loved my husband and children more than when I watched those desperate souls jumping out of windows.

  I think that was the hardest thing I have ever watched in my life, and I put myself in their shoes for an eternal second and just cried for three days straight. It has totally changed me and my life, although I’m not sure how.

  I’m scared, not knowing if I’ll wake up the next day or not. I know that I’ll never look at my future or my children’s future with the arrogance of knowing it will be there.

  As those damn terrorists showed us all, you just never know!

  “This was a tremendous warning to civilization that challenges us to mobilize, supremely, our sense of responsibility for this world.”

  —CZECH PRESIDENT VACLAV HAVEL, The New York Times 9/12/2001

  FROM AN AOL POST, 9/21/2001 12:04 AM EDT

  SUBJECT: WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES

  On Monday we e-mailed jokes.

  On Tuesday we did not.

  On Monday we thought that we were secure. On Tuesday we learned better.

  On Monday we were talking about heroes as being athletes.

  On Tuesday we relearned who our heroes are.

  On Monday we were irritated that our rebate checks had not arrived.

  On Tuesday we gave money away to people we had never met.

  On Monday there were people fighting against praying in schools.

  On Tuesday you would have been hard pressed to find a school where someone was not praying.

  On Monday people argued with their kids about picking up their room.

  On Tuesday the same people could not get home fast enough to hug their kids.

  On Monday people were upset that they had to wait six minutes in a fast food drive-through line.

  On Tuesday people didn’t care about waiting up to six hours to give blood for the dying.

  On Monday we waved flags signifying our cultural diversity.

  On Tuesday we waved only the American flag.

  On Monday there were people trying to separate each other by race, sex, color, and creed.

  On Tuesday they were all holding hands.

  On Monday we were men or women, black or white, old or young, rich or poor, gay or straight, Christian or non-Christian.

  On Tuesday we were Americans.

  On Monday politicians argued about budget surpluses.

  On Tuesday, grief-stricken, they sang “God Bless America.”

  On Monday the president was going to Florida to read to children.

  On Tuesday he returned to Washington to protect our children.

  On Monday we had families.

  On Tuesday we had orphans.

  On Monday people went to work as usual.

  On Tuesday they died.

  On Monday people were fighting placement of the Ten Commandments on government property.

  On Tuesday the same people all said “God help us all” while thinking “Thou shall not kill.”

  It is sadly ironic how it takes horrific events to place things into perspective, but it has. The lessons learned this week, the things we have taken for granted, the things that have been forgotten or overlooked . . . I hope they’ll never be forgotten again.

  “There is . . . throughout the world, a profound sense of solidarity; there is courage; there is a surging of the human spirit.”

  —BRITISH PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR, AT A MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR BRITISH VICTIMS OF THE NEW YORK TERRORIST ATTACKS, AT ST. THOMAS CATHEDRAL, 9/21/2001

  FROM AN AOL POST, 9/15/2001 2
:02 AM EDT

  SUBJECT: I THOUGHT I WAS A MAN!

  My wife is sleeping. My girls are sleeping . . . I know, because I just checked (something I have neglected to do for some time now because I have just been too busy). I will check on them more closely now, probably more frequently also.

  My tears sting my eyes . . . not MANLY, I know. My heart has shifted lately, and it goes out to the friends and families of those lost.

  FROM AN AOL POST, 9/16/2001 6:25 PM EDT

  SUBJECT: ALWAYS SAY “I LOVE YOU”

  Despite the tragedies in the past week, I hope we as a nation have learned a valuable lesson—cherish the time we have with our loved ones. You could wake up tomorrow and never see them again. Never walk away angry. Don’t fight over small things. Let’s not take our families, friends, and significant others for granted. Respect each other and pray together.

  And remember to always say “I love you.” They may not be there when you come home.

  “I do believe we shall continue to grow, to multiply, and prosper until we exhibit an association powerful, wise, and happy beyond what has yet been seen by men.”

  —THOMAS JEFFERSON, LETTER TO JOHN ADAMS

  FROM AN AOL POST, 9/15/2001 1:43 AM EDT

  SUBJECT: I WANT TO BE AN AMERICAN

  I am not an American citizen. I have been living in this country as a permanent resident for 16 years now, ever since I was 10 years old. For some reason I never took that last step to make it “official.” I don’t know why, maybe I thought that a little thing like that didn’t make a difference.

  Now I understand the difference that it will make. I see the people around me and the country I have grown to love and am proud to say is mine, and I know what it means to be an American. I know now that it is something that I want to be a part of. It is a beautiful country with wonderful people from all walks of life.

  We take our freedoms for granted so often; now we know what it means to fight for them. I want to be a part of this great nation, I do not plan on ever leaving. I cannot wait to take my citizenship test and to get added to the list of people having the privilege to live in AMERICA.

  “Since changes are going on any way, the great thing is to learn enough about them so that we will be able to lay hold of them and turn them in the direction of our desires. Conditions and events are neither to be fled from nor passively acquiesced in; they are to be utilized and directed.”

  —JOHN DEWEY, Reconstruction in Philosophy

  FROM AN AOL POST, 9/16/2001 2:35 PM EDT

  SUBJECT: POEM FOR THE VICTIMS AND THEIR FAMILIES

  I’m not just an American,

  my life was changed today.

  I became a soldier,

  in my own special way.

  I couldn’t stop the planes

  or the terrorists taking our flights.

  I wasn’t there to comfort

  the poor victims’ screams and sights.

  I wish I could have called out

  for the buildings to be cleared,

  but I wasn’t in New York or Washington,

  to comfort these people when they feared.

  And when those brave souls on duty

  didn’t get home from work,

  I didn’t see their families

  crying, shocked and hurt.

  I didn’t go through the rubble,

  the fire or smoke to

  identify—and didn’t know who was who

  or why they had to die.

  But I’m not just an American,

  and my life was changed today,

  I became a soldier

  in my own special way.

  I put myself in their places

  but couldn’t imagine the strain.

  I prayed for the victims’ souls

  and for their loved ones pain.

  I listened to the tragic details,

  too numb to really feel,

  Then went out to give some blood

  to help the wounded heal.

  I woke my son the next morning,

  only to hear him say,

  “Nobody’s going to school, Mom,

  they were scared away.”

  I said, “You get up and go now,

  even if you’re the only one,

  We’re not going to show fear,

  and no, they haven’t won.”

  And as I put on my makeup,

  my clothes, and working shoes,

  a certain pride came over me,

  one I never knew.

  On the way out the door

  I hung the flag at half mast,

  put Red, White, and Blue on the car

  and saw other flags that passed.

  That certain message of liberty,

  to fellow patriots we send,

  symbolizing the freedom we earned

  and the freedom we will surely defend.

  We prayed along with the nation

  with a request for God to save,

  This beautiful nation of ours

  and for bodies not yet in their grave.

  Leaving work, emotions set in

  as I drove home in the rain.

  The tears began to fall

  and I choked them back again.

  Then the sun came out

  forming a rainbow in the sky,

  God’s bright promise of hope

  helped me not to cry.

  Later we lit a candle,

  and we prayed across this great land,

  for the victims and their loved ones

  because it’s united we stand.

  You see, we’re not just Americans,

  our lives were changed today.

  We became soldiers

  in our own special way.

  “Our nation is united as never before. We are united not only in our grief, but also in our resolve to build a better world. At this service, we seek to summon what Abraham Lincoln called ‘the better angels of our nature.’”

  —JAMES EARL JONES, IN A STADIUM OF HEROES, PRAYERS FOR THE FALLEN, The New York Times 9/24/2001

  FROM AN AOL POST, 9/16/2001 10:34 AM EDT

  SUBJECT: WHILE WE MAY NEVER KNOW, WE ARE SO THANKFUL

  May the loss of thousands of lives on Tuesday forever remind us that the unthinkable can happen, and often does. May we resolve to move forward with a new respect for America and its great people. The victims of the disaster and the gallant men and women who lost their own lives attempting to save others will forever be a reminder of how precious life truly is.

  “May we use this energy, may we use this unconditional spirit to go beyond this event so that we will become better people, more loving people, caring people, not only for the victims and the victims’ families but also those who are impoverished in our nations, caught in the prisons of injustice and inequity.”

  —THE REVEREND EDWARD CORLEY, MOUNT OLIVE BAPTIST CHURCH, MANHASSET, NEW YORK, The New York Times 9/17/2001

  CONCERNED

  Helping

  The September 11 terrorist attacks set in motion a chain of events—and emotions. Because almost everything about them was unprecedented, no one can say when we will return to “normal” or whether we’ll have to adjust, over and over again, to a “new normal.”

  It’s in the American tradition to reach out immediately to help those in need. That is noble. But because of the deep psychological wounds caused by the terrorist attacks, it is equally important for us to look inside and see if we are suffering—in our eagerness to give help, we may need to pause and, first, get help.

  We have, therefore, divided this section into Giving Help and Getting Help—and because we suspect that we can be most useful to others if we are in good mental health ourselves, we start with ways to get help.

  GETTING HELP FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY

  More than 1,000 American Red Cross chapters nationwide are prepared to work with the needs of your family surrounding this unprecedented tragedy. For the latest information regarding the Red Cross response and serv
ices the organization is providing, please visit www.redcross.org.

  Childhelp USA® Hotline, 1-800-4-A-CHILD, offers assistance to children, families, and individuals who need help coping with the terrorist attacks.

  The National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology has pulled together a list of credentialed psychologists who have volunteered to offer healthcare services to the victims and their families. For the list, go to www.nationalregister.com/reliefservices.html.

  The American Psychology Association gives advice on managing traumatic stress. Go to www.apa.org/psychnet/coverage.html.

  The National Institute of Mental Health has a special section, Response to Terrorist Acts Against America. Go to www.nimh.nih.gov/outline/responseterrorism.cfm.

  GriefNet has e-mail support groups and an area where kids can help each other deal with their emotions. Go to griefnet.org.

  Beliefnet enables you to find a local house of worship and provides a faith-by-faith guide for dealing with death and an online prayer circle for the victims of the terrorist attack. Go to www.beliefnet.com.

  GIVING HELP

  If you want to give money, many charities are addressing the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. For a good overview, go to Helping.org or libertyunites.org.

  The following is a short list of organizations and charities.

  NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

  America’s Second Harvest

  America’s Second Harvest’s mission is to get food and water to hungry people. In the days after September 11, it was inundated with food and product donations. Now it needs cash donations to help move the disaster relief to the affected communities. For information about the America’s Second Harvest Disaster Relief, go to www.secondharvest.org/aboutash/disaster.html.

  American Red Cross

  The American Red Cross, a humanitarian organization led by volunteers, guided by its Congressional Charter and the Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross Movement, will provide relief to victims of disasters and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org.