I remember sitting in my history classes throughout my school aged years hearing stories about the events my teachers lived through. Modern historical events like the Kennedy assassination, the fall of the Berlin wall, Vietnam, and going back further the Depression and the attack on Pearl Harbor. Young me often wondered how I would have reacted to those events. What would I have done? What would I remember?
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| Would I have been on the National Mall to see MLK speak? |
But 9/11 wasn't the only major event that happed on the national and even international stage to shape my life. And now I can add the events that took place on Wednesday to that ever growing list.
Some days I forget how young I was when 9/11 happened. That teenagers sitting in their history classes are learning about it the same way I learned about the fall of the Berlin wall. Their teachers probably told them where they were or what they were doing when the first plane hit the World Trade Center the same way my history teacher talked about hearing that Kennedy had been shot while sitting in their history class.
A few months ago, I mentioned to my dad how many unprecedented and historic events my generation (the Millennials) had lived through. My dad laughed and said that his generation (the Boomers) had also seen a lot more on top of what we were going through. He then told me how on the day the Vietnam war ended, his father decided to ring the bell at the seminary - which then led to more bells ringing all across the city of Lancaster. That was how my grandfather wanted to acknowledge the end of the war. I almost hope to hear bells ringing once the wars on terror finally end.
The United States has been at war most of my life. Teenagers have never known the United States to not be at war. I forget that fact - often. Have I just grown numb to it?
I think the first big international event that I can remember is when Princess Diana died. I was very young, at an age where memories are more likely to be forgotten than formed. I had no idea who she was, but I knew that mom was very upset that she had died.
Two years later, the Columbine high school massacre occurred. My main memory from that event is my teacher bowing her head to pray, tears in her eyes.
Right after 9/11 was the DC sniper in 2002. By this point in my life I still believed that adults had all the answers and would protect us kids. As time went on and more people died, I lost that faith. When teachers and school administrators tell your friends walking between their outdoor classrooms to "use the buddy system" so as to not be killed by a sniper, it becomes obvious that adults have no idea what they're doing.
At some point in the early 2000s (also after 9/11), I remember being worried for my cousin in the military going to war. I didn't want him to be deployed into an active combat zone, especially after all the war movies I'd grown up watching on World War 2. My cousin was deployed. Other members of my family have been deployed. One of my distant cousins died - it was suspected to have been by friendly fire.
The Virginia Tech massacre happened just before my birthday. Three days later a bomb threat was called into my school. Tension was high.
My friends and developed a thick skin to tragedy and often joked our own mortality. We learned early that bad things happen and there's nothing anyone will do about it.
I cried my eyes out when I saw the news on Sandy Hook. I had just gotten back from studying from my finals. My roommate and I talked about it for a bit. Sharing stories on what the kids had gone through, what they had survived.
Wednesday's insurrection was historical. If I had been asked as a teenager in high school whether or not something like that could happen in the United States, I'd have laughed and firmly said no. I've grown up a lot since then. I've learned more and come to understand things in different ways.
A lot of people saw this coming. A lot of people tried to warn others that this was likely to happen.
On Wednesday during the insurrection, I took my dad to a doctor's appointment. While I sat in the waiting area, I scrolled through Twitter - getting updates live. I was stunned, but sadly not surprised. I let the people in the office know what was going on in real time. Dad and I watched the live coverage once we got home. It was so much worse than seeing the BLM protestors getting gassed so the President could hold a Bible upside down in front of St. Johns Church.
I know where I was and what I was doing on Wednesday.
I probably won't ever forget it. And neither will most Americans.
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Until next week.
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