by Valerie Durnin Ten years ago Sunday, the morning broke bright and beautiful in Powell River. At about the time the sun was coming up, two towers were falling down on an equally beautiful morning on the other side of the continent.
Ten years is a long time. In the 10 years since the World Trade Center towers fell, I have changed jobs, been divorced and moved back to the United States. In the last 10 years I bought my first cell phone, my first smart phone and my first laptop computer. I have joined the Facebook community and the TED community, and sampled the worlds of online gaming and online dating. The last 10 years have seen the birth of three nephews and the death of some close friends, including some four-legged friends who were very dear to me. My world has changed in the last 10 years, no doubt about that.
On Sunday morning, at the site of the world-changing events at the World Trade Center, the new 9/11 Memorial will be dedicated. We will all be reflecting on that bright day in September—one of the days in our history when the world stood still—and on the 10 years in between. Whatever your politics, it cannot be denied that the events of September 11, 2001 have changed the world we live in.
It’s impossible to know what life might have been like without 9/11. Because of 9/11 there have been 10 years of war in countries on the other side of the world. Because of 9/11 laws were put in place, some seeking to protect American society and prevent recurrence of terrorist events on its soil, some, in my opinion, seeking to erode civil rights and give more power to government in the name of security. Because of 9/11, and the actions that were taken in its name, North American society is wiser, sadder, different. But is it better?
The 9/11 Memorial puts two reflecting pools in the footprint of the great fallen towers. What once rose to the sky as a crowning monument to capitalism will now sink into the earth as a place for us to reflect. It makes me think of how opportunity rises from adversity, if we choose it.
As we look back on that day 10 years ago, and on all the days in between, and what they have meant, we can also look forward. What we make of our lives, and of our world, is our choice. Whether we learn from the tragedies and triumphs we live through is our choice. And that choice is made not 10 years ago, or 10 years from now, but today. That is what I will be thinking about. What can I do today to make my world a better place?
Valerie Durnin wrote the Viewpoint on September 11, 2001, while she was copy editor at the Peak. She had lived in New York and worked a block away from the World Trade Center. She now lives in Los Angeles.
