Article Contributed on: 9/13/2009 7:08:11 PM
Friday, I attended three events in remembrance of the bravery and tragedy in America on Sept. 11, 2001. For yet another year, it was a strange day, filled with mixed emotions. The loss of life and terrible hatred from that day make me angry and sad. The uniting of our nation and community members gives me hope and strength.
As Federal Heights Mayor Joyce Thomas said at a flag ceremony at City Hall, that day in 2001 brought us together and reminded us of how wonderful America is.
When the first plane hit the World Trade Center in New York City, I was relaxing in the childhood home of my fairly new husband (we had been married one or two years depending on which ceremony - American or Japanese - was considered the real date). We were just outside of Sapporo, Japan, and we were too full to move from a late but wonderful meal made by my mother-in-law.
It was almost midnight in Japan, near 7 a.m. in Colorado and just before 9 a.m. on America's East Coast.
Suddenly, my husband's aunt yelled out from her bedroom upstairs that an airplane just hit a building in America. We quickly turned on the TV to see the first of many rebroadcasts of the first plane hitting the World Trade Center. Like most around the world, we were filled with disbelief. What kind of terrible accident could it be? Was it something different than an accident?
Soon, we would discover our original fears and concerns were nothing compared to the actual situation that was unfolding. Another plane hit the other building and the tragedy just continued to escalate. It was so surreal watching it from a country a half a world away and in the Japanese language.
We stayed up as late into the early morning hours as we could, trying to learn more and stay connected, though we were unable to help in those moments. When we woke late the next day, we as well as most of Japan were glued to TVs at home and at work. And over the next few days, we watched the poor news anchors in Japan and Japanese reporters in the U.S. become more and more disheveled as they kept their vigil of supplying the little island nation (tied to America in so many ways) informed and updated.
I could only feel relief that I had no personal connections to the people in the World Trade Center or on those airplanes. My sister-in-law in Tokyo was less fortunate. Her software company had employees in the building in New York City, and she was holding her breath, waiting to find out their fate. One thing I don't think many Americans realize is how many foreigners perished in those buildings on 9-11. The terrorists targeted an international business center with hundreds if not thousands of workers from around the world, not just an American landmark and American people.
Had my husband and I planned to return to America earlier, we certainly would have been delayed due to the days of airport closures. Luckily for us, our flight on Sept. 16 was scheduled enough days after the tragedy and enough states away from it that we were able to arrive home without incident. However, our spirits and the nerves of other passengers were on edge as we boarded and rode the airplanes.
And as we made it through customs and made it out of the airports, we knew we had returned to a different America. In just two weeks of being in another country, we came back to a United States that had been transformed and would continue to be changed from the aftereffects for years to come.
As I mentioned near the beginning of this story, I believe some of the changes have been positive - but there have been many negative changes as well, caused from the fear and hatred created or just intensified from that day.
Some of the lessons that I hope will continue to resonate with Americans are:
we are at our best when we come together in shared service and commitment,
we need to be prepared and consider ways to lessen the results of catastrophes,
and we need to understand other countries and cultures, and be cautious of individual and national decisions that interfere in the lives of other countries.
These lessons can apply to decision-making on City Council as well. I believe we do our best policy-setting when we are community-oriented, future-focussed and considerate of the consequences on a wide spectrum of people.
If these ideas sound reasonable to you, I hope you'll support my campaign to get elected to City Council for another term. To find out more about my candidacy and voting, check out my new campaign web site at
http://votefortanya.ning.com.