Editorial:
It was early morning, Tuesday, September 11, 2001. I wish I could say it was like any other day but I couldn’t. Before I rolled out of bed that morning, my wife came into the room saying ‘you have to turn on the television, a plane just crashed into a tower in New York.’ There was a stress in her voice that made the event real and worrisome. She heard the first news on the radio and there was confusion as to what had happened. It was all so sudden.
We turned on the television and no sooner than we did we saw the image of another plane striking the south tower. The Twin Towers were now both burning and we sat there stunned, not exactly sure what was going on – were we under attack? No one on television seemed to know the answers to the question. All we knew for sure was what was happening right before our eyes. What we saw were the Twin Towers burning and people on the streets walking around bewildered as fire trucks and police raced to the scene.
On the West Coast and here at home in Chula Vista, we weren’t sure what to do. So we continued with our daily routine, getting the kids ready for school, not sure if it was the right thing to do. We tried to get ready for work as normally as possible, not wanting to frighten our young children, and we silently listened and watched this tragedy unfold. We were in a fog and feared for the worst. The worst did occur when to the horror of all, the Twin Towers collapsed. In an instant, thousands died and the people in the streets ran for their lives. It was an eerie day, strangely silent as most everybody waited to see what was go to happen next. We kept asking ourselves, ‘Are we at war?’
We would later learn about two other planes, one headed toward and crashed into the Pentagon and the fourth which was determined to be in route to the White House or Capital.
Heroes immediately emerged, starting with the first responders to the Twin Towers, our fire and police personnel. They heroically plunged themselves into the jaws of danger to rescue their fellow man with seemingly no regard for their own safety. Then there were the passengers on the flight headed toward the White House, who took it upon themselves to fight back against the terrorists. They forced the plane to crash in Pennsylvania, short of the terrorists’ targeted goal. All aboard sacrificed their lives in order to save others.
It was soon revealed to the nation that these were terrorists’ attacks. We were at war but not with a country. An ideologically-driven group of individuals was waging war on the United States.
Our experiences and feelings were a shared experience. As editors, though, we needed to put our feelings into context and provide guidance as best we could. Three days following 9/11, these are the words we shared with our readers:
It is a sad, frustrating and angry time for all of us. Three days after the attack on America, it is still difficult to find the words to accurately and succinctly express our feelings. This attack has touched each and every one of us. Our hearts go out to those who have lost a loved one, a relative, a friend or a member of their community. Our support goes out to our government leaders who we now entrust with the task of effectively responding to this act of war. A plea for tolerance is sought in our dealings with and in the views we hold of our Arab/Muslim-American neighbors. We urge our decision-makers to use caution as they consider eliminating some of our freedoms in the hopes of dealing more effectively with future terrorist threats.
September 15 marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month, a month which begins with a celebration of Mexico’s fight for Independence. America has now been thrust into a fight to maintain and defend our own Independence. We must now fight to preserve our way of life and to guarantee ourselves protection from future attacks.
Although we fill the pages of La Prensa San Diego with news and local feature stories about Hispanic Heritage month, as well as political commentary, our minds, hearts and souls are in line with those of the rest of America. We pray for those who lost their lives, for the loss of some of our valued freedom, and for the loss of the safety which we have taken for granted.
Based on fear and a call for retaliation, the United States went to war. Now, ten years later, we are still at war. Then President Bush plunged the country into a unwarranted and unjustified war against Iraq and Saddam Hussein. We destroyed a country with no just cause. It was not Hussein who attacked the World Trade Center, nor was Iraq stockpiling nuclear warheads. We can still recall the hearings as the Bush administration pushed their agenda of fear about biological welfare with visions of soldiers in gas masks and instructions on duct taping our homes to thwart such an attack.
Now, ten years later, we are still at war. If the country is on the brink of financial collapse, it could be due to the trillions of dollars that the US government has been spending on the 10 year war.
But we can’t lay all the blame at the feet of President Bush. The US Congress and Senate failed the country by giving up their rights and responsibility as they gave the President the power to declare war. Congress sat on the sidelines, unwilling to appear un-American and challenge and question the President. Congress failed to be a part of the check and balances that this country was founded on.
Ten years later we celebrate the heroes and brave souls of Sept 11, 2001, and the heroes who emerged the days, weeks and, months after. We look to them as inspiration as they represent all that we strive to become. We mourn those who lost their lives and we stand with the family and friends who lost a loved one that day.
And hopefully we have learned some important lessons of the past. We look forward to an end of the wars in the Middle East and to a future of peace.