Right On The Right

When I walked into my third period class in 6th grade, my teacher was staring at the television. I suppose I knew something was wrong because no teachers were monitoring the hallways like they usually did in-between periods. The office door was shut and the administrators were huddled next to the secretary staring at a television. Still, when I finally got into that room and looked at the television, I was confused. A building I was unfamiliar with was on fire, and the folks on NBC news seemed just as shocked as my teachers. Then it happened. Just seconds before the bell rang to start my third period class, and seconds after my gaze landed on the television screen, a second airplane flew into the second tower, and every inch of my being screamed "War!" I was 11 years old and my interests, thoughts, and motivations would never be the same. I didn't lose any friends, but I lost fellow Americans. The events of that day single-handedly shaped what I wanted to do in life.

Not every teenager saw the carnage of 9/11 and became a political junkie, but the impact was widespread. All of a sudden, young men and women who swore they'd grow up to be doctors, firemen, engineers, or lawyers were considering enlisting in the military and putting four years of their life aside for military service. Kids that spent their free time playing sports games started playing games where they fought terrorists, just for that extra sense of satisfaction. Our nation was attacked and a quiet rage boiled in the blood of every American, young and old. Most importantly however, many teens saw 9/11 and were awakened to the realities of our world, and began thinking about politics, their future, and the future of the United States.

It didn't end on September 11th either, because that was only the beginning of what would be a long series of revelations for our generation. Anthrax scares, train bombings, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and American terrorists would keep our generation awake. All of a sudden the 11 & 12 year-olds who were barely old enough to understand what happened on that day were indulged with news about soldiers dying, bombings in foreign places, and the need for more action against rogue states. Current event articles in history classes featured a steady diet of news from the Middle East, and debating the Iraq War became the norm at some of the lunch tables frequented by political junkies like myself. Even the kids that struggled in school seemed to know something about the war, and about the terrorists, and wanted their say.

Fast forward to 2007. Today we're looking at an entire generation of kids that have spent years in a post-9/11 world and spent years looking at events in the Middle East. Some of these kids have gone soft, falling back in line with the popular youth "peace" movement. Others are quiet but adamant defenders of the War in Iraq. Finally, there's the rare breed which actively argues in support of further military action. Our generation now needs a reminder about what 9/11 was, and what the terrorists did, because we're going to be the decision-makers in a few short years. We'll be the voters, and soon after be the lawmakers, and many in our generation will decide to be the actual soldiers fighting the war. It's a shame that September 11th seemed to have a temporary effect, because the work isn't done, we need to stay awake, and we need to stay on the offensive against terrorism. I suppose those of you against fighting terrorism need more reminders, and I'm not ready for the day in America when those deadly reminders come...