On Sept. 10, 2000, my eldest daughter and I stood on the
observation deck of the south tower at the World Trade Center. It
was a humbling experience looking down on New York City. The yellow
cabs maneuvering through the maze of streets below looked like a
swarm of ants carrying bits of cheese on their backs.
On Sept. 10, 2000, my eldest daughter and I stood on the observation deck of the south tower at the World Trade Center. It was a humbling experience looking down on New York City. The yellow cabs maneuvering through the maze of streets below looked like a swarm of ants carrying bits of cheese on their backs. What struck me most about the view was something I had only read about. On a clear day, at that height one can see the curvature of the earth’s surface. It was an amazing sight.
A year later almost to the day, I was awakened by my radio alarm to the breaking news of an airplane crash into the north tower of the World Trade Center. At first, I thought nothing of it. Back in 1945, an Army B-25 crashed into the Empire State building due to poor visibility.
Accidents in aviation happen. However, when a second plane flew into the south tower, news reporters suspected something was terribly wrong – one plane crash might be an accident, but two planes at the same location was a planned attack.
My thoughts quickly turned to all the people and faces we had encountered on our visit to the Twin Towers the previous year; the businessmen and women rushing through the lobby to get to work, the elevator attendant who greeted us with a smile, the waitress at the restaurant who served our lunch. Were they in the building when the planes struck? Did they have a chance to escape? Questions occupied my thoughts during those few days after the attacks. It was heart wrenching watching the news as people walked around ground zero posting pictures of missing loved ones.
The tragedy on the East Coast hit even closer to home when the names of the victims on United flight 93 that crashed in an open field in Pennsylvania scrolled down the television screen. I read each name one after another until one name stood out – Nicole Miller. I knew a Nicole Miller. In fact, three months earlier in July, I saw her at a wedding reception at the Guglielmo Winery in Morgan Hill. It was the first time I had seen her since she was a little girl wearing corrective glasses to treat a lazy eye. In her early twenties, she had blossomed into a beautiful young lady.
Not long after reading the name on the screen, the phone began to ring with friends and family calling us to confirm that indeed it was the Nicole Miller we all knew.
It turned out that she was visiting her fiance’s family in New Jersey and was flying back home on United flight 93. Her fiance, who we had met at the wedding reception, returned on a different flight.
No one was unaffected by the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The recent controversies surrounding the ninth anniversary have opened many wounds.
The national debate on the expansion of a mosque near ground zero has sparked anger on both sides of the issue. The planned burning, and last minute cancellation, of Islam’s holy book the Koran in Florida has ignited rage in the Muslim world.
Anger that is fueled by the senseless killing of innocent lives is natural. However, anger should not lead to hate because it’s contrary to our national character. Politicians from both parties like to remind us that we have not experienced a major attack on our homeland in the magnitude of 9/11 due to steps taken by their party while in power. We haven’t been attacked because we have made liars out of the leaders from extremist groups that spew hatred.
Our democratic ideals of liberty and justice are stronger than the terrorist goals of oppression and fear. Americans are resilient.
The recent flooding in Pakistan has been an opportunity to demonstrate democratic ideals through disaster relief and humanitarian aide to the people in the region.
According to our intelligence agencies, Pakistan is the breeding ground for terrorists. The general people of the region must question the goals of terrorism versus the ideals of democracy when the issues are as simple as food, shelter, and medical attention.
When I stood on the south tower 10 years ago and glanced at the horizon, what I had read about the curvature of the earth’s surface was reaffirmed.
Every time our leaders stand up for justice or as a nation we provide humanitarian assistance after natural disasters, extremists lose credibility among their followers. The war on terror will not be won through acts of hatred, whether local or abroad, but by adherence to our democratic ideals of liberty and justice.
Mario Banuelos has lived in Morgan Hill for 21 years. He has served on the south County Dayworker Committee and is a member of the Morgan Hill Community Foundation. He is married and has four children.
