Where were you 22 years ago when you realized America was under attack?
I was in the studio of the radio station in Portland, OR getting ready to go on the air. As I prepared to go on the air at 6:00 am Portland time (which was 9:00 am New York time), the TV news monitor was on in the studio and at 5:46 am - 14 minutes before going on the air - I looked at the monitor as saw thick black smoke billowing from one of the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.
As I watched there was a replay of the plane crashing into the tower. I immediately turned up the volume and heard speculation that a “sightseeing plane” might have crashed into the World Trade Center and I knew that was ridiculous because of the size of the gaping hole in the side of the building.
The station in Portland was still in the news at 6:03 am when a second plane crashed into the second tower of the World Trade Center. At that point I knew our nation was under attack. I also knew that in just a few minutes I would be live on the air with the responsibility of informing Portland and much of the Pacific Northwest what was happening. It seemed obvious to me that these huge planes did not somehow lose their way and accidentally crash into the Twin Towers. I knew this was some kind of attack - but nothing was official and I had to choose my words carefully in telling the audience what was happening.
Ignoring some of the observations of the anchors - who did not know for sure what was happening - I used my instincts to conclude that these were not sightseeing planes and the weather was near perfect so they did just hit the buildings accidentally. I knew this was a deliberate attack.
From my perspective as a Boomer growing up with the daily threat of nuclear war with the Russians, the nervous, insecure feeling I felt was scary, because in America we had developed a sense of security that no one would ever attack our nation, especially on our soil. But 22 years ago today we all learned that our security was a false sense of security and instantly a new enemy had emerged.
When I think back on the aftermath of the attacks, I recall an unusual sense of unity with all Americans. Any controversial social or political topics took a backseat to what we were experiencing that morning. We had no idea what was coming next. Was this it - or was this just the beginning? The uncertainty was frightening, but the common fear and insecurity is what brought us together as a nation.
In the 22 years since, we have changed. We have allowed the feeling of togetherness and unity slip away and we have become even more divided today.
We will hear the presidential candidates and so many others remind us of 9/11 - and we will feel a sense of pride because we did unite as one nation under God. But we must also own the reality that we allowed that unity to be quickly divided over often petty bickering about political and social issues.
When 9/11 hit - New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani rose from the ashes of the Twin Towers to be anointed “America’s Mayor.” America rallied about Giuliani as leader and a hero. The fact that the same person who was loved and revered by America - is facing indictments for his part in working with a sitting president to overturn the legitimate outcome of an American election is a microcosm for what has happened to America in the past 22 years.
Will it take another 9/11 to bring us together as one nation again? Let’s hope not. But the even bigger question is - if there was another 9/11-type attack on America - are we so divided now that we would not come together the way we did just 22 years ago today?
