This Is My New Jersey

“Where were you on December 7th?”

“Where were you when President Kennedy was shot?”

“Where were you when Dr. King was assassinated?”

“Where were you on 9/11?”

Sadly, every generation experiences at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. For Gen-Xers like me, there have been several. I remember watching video of blindfolded hostages in Iran. I remember watching John Hinkley attempting to assassinate President Reagan. I remember watching the Challenger explosion in gym class and then going on to my next class like nothing happened. I remember 9/11.

Which one was the most traumatic for someone will depend, based on a variety of factors. But for many of us, 9/11 was surreal. We watched it on television in real time. If a television wasn’t nearby, we listened to the radio. My mother held the phone up to the television so we could hear the coverage on ABC News as a dozen people crowded into my cubicle at work.

This time of year, I hear every plane that goes overhead. I spent the first 30 years of my life on the approach to Newark Airport. Planes were overhead so often, I didn’t even hear them anymore. The week after 9/11, not a plane was in the sky. It felt eerie. Once the planes were allowed to take off again, I heard every plane. I still look up far more often than I used to – especially this time of year.

The Next Generation

We now have an entire generation that was not alive when this dark day took place. A day when the United States lost a part of our innocence. We had an enemy most of us didn’t even know existed. We couldn’t believe terrorists would attack a general population just getting on a plane or going to work. It was unfathomable.

There are days I still can’t believe what happened. We all collectively held our breath. We all mourned. We were confused, angry, shocked, and every other emotion you could imagine. We walked around in a fog for months. Probably longer, if I admitted it.

I say it every year, but we have an obligation to educate the next generation. To tell them our first-hand stories and experiences. All of it. I think every school should have an age-appropriate lesson on 9/11 about what happened that day. Let someone come in to the class and share their story. If they are high school students, have them watch 102 Minutes. It is an incredibly sad, yet incredibly well-done, documentary of the morning, minute-by-minute, in real time.

As I wrote last year, young people need to understand – all of it. We cannot allow social media twist their minds and have sympathy for Osama Bin Laden’s and his so-called “Letter to America.”

We all need to keep that promise we all made to never forget. It needs to be more than just words. It should be a responsibility we all carry.