Reflecting on Sept. 11

During my freshman year of high school, I was sitting in my first class of the day, General Music, when a student busted through the classroom's double doors to say a plane hit a New York monument. He left as promptly as he came, and the class literally laughed it off, assuming he was playing some type of off-color joke.

When the bell sounded and my class was dismissed, rumors ran rampant in the halls. By the time I reached my second period classroom, the teacher already had CNN on the TV. We didn't learn any new equations or go over the previous night's homework. Instead we watched footage of a suicide bomber pummelling a plane into the World Trade Center.

Panic ensued. We were in Germantown, Tenn., and many of my classmates' parents were pilots for FedEx which had an office in town. Kids were frantically trying to locate their parents, desperate to know that their moms and dads were (hopefully) flying nowhere near New York or Washington, DC. Other classmates, including myself, were attempting to locate our parents who were out of town on business trips. My dad travelled about 3 nights a week, and I didn't even know if he was planning to be gone let alone where in the country he might be. Luckily, he was on the ground and away from the disaster areas.

The events of September 11 made Americans realize that we are not infallible. Just because we aren't an impoverished, desolate country doesn't mean that we are in the clear of horrible happenings. I know I am less trusting of fellow passengers on planes or other transportation when I travel. Instead of striking up conversation with the man next to me, I'm assessing whether or not he seems "safe."

Airlines keep instating stricter and stricter guidelines for flying. Getting wanded by airport personnel after successfully walking through the metal detector is relatively common. People aren't very surprised when their carry-on bags get raided by security staff. You can expect to find a slip of paper in your checked luggage that states your bag has been searched.

Our nation is less trusting due to Sept. 11. We were blindsided, and we don't want a tragedy like it to happen again.

I also believe that the US is more dependent on its televised media post Sept. 11. For weeks after, we were glued to the TV looking for answers or new snippets of information. People we knew and didn't know went on television to tell their stories of loss. Television comics stopped their regular routines because no one wanted to hear petty jokes when our nation appeared to be under attack by terrorists. We looked to television to show us why and how; we expected the media to answer our questions. Even when it couldn't, we watched still, hopeful that they would eventually.

With monumental events like Sept. 11, people turn to the media for thorough coverage on the pertinent issues. After all, we personally cannot be at Ground Zero or the Pentagon. We are looking for advocates to do this for us, providing facts and commentary along the way. The newscasters become not puppets in suits, but our friends looking out for our interests and concerns. Trust is given to inform us accurately and as quickly as possible. Sept. 11 gave the media industry a renewed sense of purpose. Journalists cannot slack, because if they don't give us the news, who will?