Twenty-five years ago this week, I was a young journalism student sitting in class when America changed in a single morning.
asserted
America → sit → morning
I remember the shock, the confusion and then the clarity that followed.
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that → remember → shock
We watched our country come under attack, and we watched Americans come together in response.
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Americans → watch → response
Today, I am the mother of four daughters, and what strikes me most as we approach the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11 is how much our country has changed since that day, and how many of our children have no memory of the America that existed before it.
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that → strike → it
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Sign → sign → inbox
On Sept. 11, 2001, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four airplanes and murdered nearly 3,000 innocent people.
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terrorists → hijack → people
They attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
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They → attack → Center
The passengers and crew of Flight 93 fought back, and their plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania before it could reach its intended target.
uncertain
it → fight → target
There was no TikTok algorithm to reinterpret what we had just witnessed.
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we → be → what
Americans watched it happen.
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it → watch → ?
And then something remarkable happened.
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something → happen → ?
We came together.
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We → come → ?
American flags appeared on homes, businesses and freeway overpasses.
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flags → appear → homes
Democrats and Republicans stood together.
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Democrats → stand → ?
Strangers hugged.
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Strangers → hug → ?
First responders ran toward burning buildings while everyone else was running out.
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everyone → run → buildings
We understood that America was imperfect, but fundamentally worth defending.
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America → understand → ?
We understood that deliberately flying airplanes filled with innocent people into buildings filled with innocent people was evil.
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flying → understand → people
We knew who had attacked us.
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who → know → us
Al-Qaida, led by Osama bin Laden, had declared war on the United States.
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Qaida → lead → States
I miss that clarity.
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I → miss → clarity
And not because every decision our government made after Sept. 11 was correct.
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government → make → Sept.
But we shared something that seems increasingly difficult to say today: America, for all its flaws, is a force for good, and loving your country should not belong to one political party.
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loving → share → party
You don’t have to be Republican to be patriotic.
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You → have → ?
You don’t have to be Democrat to care about injustice.
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You → have → injustice
Oct. 7, 2023, made me realize just how much had changed.
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much → make → ?
When Hamas terrorists murdered, kidnapped and brutalized civilians in Israel, I expected to see the same moral clarity I remembered after Sept. 11.
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I → murder → Sept.
Instead, I watched people rationalize terrorism.
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people → watch → terrorism
That became intensely personal when protests and an encampment consumed Columbia University, where my daughter was a student.
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daughter → become → University
She would later testify before Congress about what Jewish students experienced.
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students → testify → what
As a mother, I kept asking myself: How did we get here?
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we → keep → myself
How did we go from a country that could recognize terrorism for what it was to one where young Americans can encounter arguments that romanticize or excuse political violence?
uncertain
that → go → violence
And then I realized I was asking the wrong question.
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I → realize → question
The better question is: What are we, as parents, going to do about it?
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we → go → it
Tell them what happened.
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what → tell → them
If they are old enough, show them the footage.
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they → show → footage
Tell them about the firefighters climbing the stairs of the World Trade Center, knowing they might never come back down.
uncertain
they → tell → Center
Tell them Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida were responsible.
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Laden → tell → them
And then listen to what your children are being taught.
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children → listen → what
California actually recognizes Sept. 11 as a Day of Remembrance and Service, and our Department of Education provides schools with resources for teaching about the attacks.
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Department → recognize → attacks
…and 20 more, not listed.
The Aporia
