Learn From Your Mistakes
An event that changed the world.
Read that line. How many events can you think of? You may think of the Industrial Revolution, the first human on the moon, the world wars, the fall of the Roman Empire. All of those seem so far away, so distant. They're things you only hear about in history. But what if there was one in your lifetime? Do you remember? Do you remember the fall of the Twin Towers?
If you're like me, a teenager, it seems as though it never really happened. You may have a vague memory of it. But you hear of it every year. The tributes. The condolences. The reminders to remember. You don't need a reminder, because it's consequences are all around us. All of that crazy airport security? The government having the ability to monitor us?
The fact of the matter is, we, as a nation, can't forget. We lost loved ones that day. A whole generation, condemned to a new America focusing its military power on defeating terrorist groups. Millions of children, worrying about parents fighting the said terrorists. Even now, with the war in Iraq finished, we see new terrorist groups pop up seemingly all the time.
A world changed. A nation scarred.
Our mistake isn't letting the terrorists in. There was no way to predict and prevent such an event from occurring at the time. The mistake we made was thinking we would forget.
A/N: I wrote this today, and I didn't post it on the actual date because I think that's ridiculous and unsympathetic. Now, if this offends anybody in any way, shape, or form, message me and I will address the issue. This was not meant to offend, just to let out my feelings on the matter.
I was four at the time. And today, I see people on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr posting tributes to 9/11. And I think it's ridiculous. Not that giving condolences is wrong. The part I find wrong is "Remember 9/11" as if we're not allowed to forget, or we're being accused of forgetting. Perhaps a person that lost a family member on that day doesn't want a huge, colorful reminder of that event plastered all over their news feed. Think before you post.
The line "Learn From Your Mistakes" has multiple meanings. Take from it what you will.
This is intended to be an omniscient point of view.
For more in this 'series' that will help you make sense of the poem below, please read my one shot and two shot Never Forget and American History!
Never forget
American history.
Learn from your mistakes,
Next chapter: For They Are Many