The Twin Towers
There's a ton of things written today about 9/11 and I don't think I can really add to it. I remember it clearer than many other days since. I was at work already - 6 AM PST, doing a software upgrade and testing on the servers. I was there with Frosty and CS and the phone was ringing which was odd as it was 6 AM. CS's family was calling to tell us what was on the news.
Truthfully, we took it as another bomb attack. Which sounds terrible but the Twin Towers had been bombed before and the Oklahoma bombing was still something we talked about. And who the hell imagined the reality anyway?
We finished the patching and didn't really know much else until the workers came in - later than normal due to the upgrade. It became a somber day where little got accomplished. We spent a lot of time listening to the radio and trying to get an internet feed on the news. So many others were obviously doing that too as the network was so incredibly slow that it often hung with scattered images.
I didn't see the planes hit the Twin Towers until late that night when I got home. I had seen stills of the planes coming towards the Towers - but as you know, not the same thing as the live footage.
It's a day few of us will ever forget. The loss of life; innocence spilled in the name of faith.
Unfortunately, you can't blame the US retaliation. After that day, it's hard to say talk it out, find a peaceful resolution. At the same time, the "good" side is supposed to act with more responsibility, more compassion despite loss and fundamentally, more courage to find a better way than an eye for an eye.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel made this statement this morning: "The ends cannot justify the means. In the fight against international terror ... respect for human rights, tolerance and respect for other cultures must be the maxim of our actions, along with decisiveness and international cooperation."
I read it on the train into work. I couldn't agree more. This fight on terrorism isn't going to end anytime soon. And we certainly aren't winning the fight. At some point the bravado needs to be holstered so that we can find a new way to deal with our changed world.
Or do we want to be in this place in another 5 years?
There's a ton of things written today about 9/11 and I don't think I can really add to it. I remember it clearer than many other days since. I was at work already - 6 AM PST, doing a software upgrade and testing on the servers. I was there with Frosty and CS and the phone was ringing which was odd as it was 6 AM. CS's family was calling to tell us what was on the news.
Truthfully, we took it as another bomb attack. Which sounds terrible but the Twin Towers had been bombed before and the Oklahoma bombing was still something we talked about. And who the hell imagined the reality anyway?
We finished the patching and didn't really know much else until the workers came in - later than normal due to the upgrade. It became a somber day where little got accomplished. We spent a lot of time listening to the radio and trying to get an internet feed on the news. So many others were obviously doing that too as the network was so incredibly slow that it often hung with scattered images.
I didn't see the planes hit the Twin Towers until late that night when I got home. I had seen stills of the planes coming towards the Towers - but as you know, not the same thing as the live footage.
It's a day few of us will ever forget. The loss of life; innocence spilled in the name of faith.
Unfortunately, you can't blame the US retaliation. After that day, it's hard to say talk it out, find a peaceful resolution. At the same time, the "good" side is supposed to act with more responsibility, more compassion despite loss and fundamentally, more courage to find a better way than an eye for an eye.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel made this statement this morning: "The ends cannot justify the means. In the fight against international terror ... respect for human rights, tolerance and respect for other cultures must be the maxim of our actions, along with decisiveness and international cooperation."
I read it on the train into work. I couldn't agree more. This fight on terrorism isn't going to end anytime soon. And we certainly aren't winning the fight. At some point the bravado needs to be holstered so that we can find a new way to deal with our changed world.
Or do we want to be in this place in another 5 years?
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