An event to define a generation

Regrettably it seems that each generation is marked by an event of tremendous national tragedy. Some mark there lives by the Great War, for others it is the assassination of John F. Kennedy, for some in my generation it is the Challenger disaster. More likely, those in my generation will mark their lives by the events that transpired on September 11, 2001.

My mother's generation often asked, "Where were you when JFK was killed?" That question and the resulting answers have been overshadowed by 9/11.

Where I was...

Visitation Complex, Loras College, Dubuque, IA


I rolled out of bed with the necessary 20 minutes before class. While brushing my teeth I turned on NBC's Today Show to catch a few bits of the news before heading to the main campus for the rest of the day. My ears perked as Matt, Katie and Ann began to relay the story of a flawed flight computer that must have led to the fatal path into the North Tower.

At this point I was running late for class. On this day, my education courses for the morning were scheduled to meet at Wahlert Memorial Library . As class was beginning, many of my classmates were discussing the tragic accident.

My professor arrived and announced that it was not an accident. He indicated that we could continue to work on our projects or relocate to the main area of the library to discuss the events. A television had been relocated to the main lobby of the library and was tuned to one of the major networks. We watched in horror as the events of the morning were replayed over and over and over again.

Never wanting to waste a teachable moment my professor rapidly turned the conversation to the following:

"As a teacher, how would you help your students cope with a traumatic event like those witnessed today."

Stepping outside our own fears we were able to grasp the enormity of the situation and develop our own coping mechanisms.

At noon the students of the Loras gathered as a community to pray for understanding, pray for those who were grieving and to pray for peace...

Five years later the events of September 11, 2001 are still fresh on my mind. How has it affected me? I don't know that I can pinpoint direct influences of that day in September. Sure, air travel is a tad more complicated now that it was before that day. On a larger scale, I see a nation of people reacting in extremes. A faction of religious conservatives seeking to govern with faith while neglecting the founding principles of this nation. A faction of people unable to trust their government. A faction of this nation fighting a war that seems to have lost purpose and direction at great national cost.

The national divisions become greater than the national unity.