Last week as I was reading the Salisbury Post I glanced at the date and realized it was 9/11. The fact that I had just become aware of it made me feel a little bit ashamed. Many dates in American history are embedded in our minds. You have 12/7/1941 (Pearl Harbor); 6/6/1944 (D—Day) and, of course, the 4th of July. Yet for some reason I let 9/11/2001 sneak up on me. I hope this didn’t happen to most Americans.

After realizing the day, I quickly turned on the TV to find specials about it. There were many. They all showed the planes crashing into the towers; the people leaping to their deaths so as not to get burned alive; and who can forget the actual collapsing of the towers themselves? But what struck me the most were the scenes that conveyed the total shock and sadness of what was happening, the total disbelief of it.

Death is final. But for the people who experienced it as well as those who lost friends and family, the day will last forever.

It’s important for us, especially our elected leaders, to remember 9/11 as often as possible. We can never forget what happened and how it made us feel. The war on terror (terror, not Muslims) is constant and we cannot let political correctness water down our resolve.

The primary purpose of our federal government is to protect its citizens. These officials have sworn to protect us even if it means allowing us, in light of today’s mentality, to pursue our trivial pursuits.

— Allan Gilmour

Salisbury