The Rebirth of Infamy.

Written two days after the attacks, and it became the prelude to a 27 page paper for my English class. It was personal. It's still personal.

On September 11th, 2001, the heavens rained down here in our quiet, northern California town, as the angels mourned the loss of our nations innocence some three thousand miles away. No one knew when they awoke that morning that their lives, and the lives of everyone they knew would be so drastically altered by the end of the day, and now, no one knows how things will ever be the same.


At 5:45 a.m. PDT, a large commercial airliner slammed into one of the World Trade Center towers, ripping a wound through it, and setting it ablaze. At 6:03 a.m., while people many were still crying "tragic accident", another jet comes into play and tears its way through tower number two. Accident? Not any longer, as the FAA hurries to declare all NYC airports closed at 6:17 a.m.. By 6:21, a.m., all NYC bridges and tunnels are ordered to close, and at 6:30 a.m., President Bush, speaking from Florida, stops the world by stating that the United States has suffered, an "apparent terrorist attack.".

At 6:40 a.m., history is made when the FAA grounds all flight operations at U.S. airports, yet at 6:43 a.m. another jet aircraft plunges into the Pentagon. At 9:45 a.m. the White House is evacuated, and 12 minutes later the President leaves Florida. 9 minutes after that, the WTC's south tower collapses, leaving Lower Manhattan in a sickening fog of smoke and ash. We are no longer safe, and we don't know why.

Over the next half hour, more evil takes place, with buildings collapsing and planes crashing, government buildings are evacuated, and at 7:28 a.m. WTC's north tower collapses from the head down, like a peeled banana, releasing yet another cloud of smoke and debris. How could this have happened, and who is to blame?

This was just the beginning, and I don't believe that it is over even yet. I think that we have been a cocky nation for years, proclaiming ourselves almost untouchable, that no one would dare to strike us here on the home front, but they have. And now we all cry out for vengeance (I do as well), but don't know how to repay. Some like myself want to see the sand of the Middle East melted to glass, but this is a temporary rage, and it will ease in time. Others want justice in the courts, but is that really good enough? Can a lifetime in jail make up for what's been done? Can even the gas chamber compensate for the torment in the minds of those who dove from the towers, knowing they would die, either hoping against hope that they wouldn't, or just wanting the madness to end for them. How do you repay?

On a personal level, I am sickened by it all. Not just the actions themselves, but by the repercussions that I know will come about. How many people will walk into a corner store owned by a Middle Eastern native, and not feel some level of anger, or disgust? What will the social ramifications be within our schools? Will my daughter be attacked if she has a friend of Middle Eastern decent? Can I overcome my own rage at this?

As a father I am ashamed at having had my children. I love them dearly, and I would give them up for nothing, but what kind of world have I brought them into? What legacy are any of us leaving for our children? We tell them stories of the big, bad wolf, and tuck them into bed, but time has shown us a bigger, badder wolf, and he wants our kids tucked into graves. What can we do to put an end to this? Is it our fault?

No, I don't believe we could have done anything to prevent this. Perhaps I am wrong, but I think that we do the best with what we have. In any situation, there is only one right thing to do, and yet the possibilities in getting it wrong are endless. We have learned through the ages that we can make mistakes, that America is like any whole, no stronger than the sum of its parts, and subject to fallibility. Perhaps, through this, Her "parts" can grow strong enough to mend "the whole".

We need to wake up from our happily-ever-afters and realize that the land of milk and honey is also the land of military and war. We are a nation of freedom, and that freedom requires constant protection. They say we are a democracy and not a military state, yet our President is the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. Why? Because we are a military presence in the world, and we elect leaders that we trust to guide our military in times like these. Do they do the job we hope they will do? That is a matter of opinion, but we hope for the best.

As a nation, we are poised on the brink of all things bad. We have seen insanity before but never in such livery, and as we grapple within our minds to understand it, we need to be sure that we understand what has brought us to this point, as well. We are a nation under constant scrutiny by men such as the ones who perpetrated this heinous act, and we need to come together to fill in the holes that exist. We need to be united like never before, to put down our old differences of color, creed, sex, and morals, and know that we are all Americans, that we all want what America has strived to provide for over two hundred years, freedom, and a peace of mind that we are safe within our homes and our daily lives.

People ask me why I care. "You're a felon. The government has been against you most of your life, and as far as our social structure, you're on the bottom, what do you care if wall street takes a dive" But I am an American, and this is my home. I don't care what the government says about my past, I worry about what it will do with my future, about how our government will make it safe again for all people, including lowly felons, such as myself. Do you think only the rich, Ivy-Leaguers have been affected here?

Rise up, Americans, and stand for what you believe in. Lets all come together and show that in this, too, we shall be strong. To all who may read this, give hope where you see the hopeless, give love where you see the angered, and give peace, as they say, a chance. One never knows where this kind of unity will lead, but I've a hunch that it will only lead to a good place.

God bless you all, you are in my prayers.
D. DeTavis
Thursday, September 13, 2001