LETTER: Thoughts on attacks

Dear Editor,

In wake of personal reflection and anguish, I recorded these words on the night of Sept. 11. I hope they can help others, as they helped me.

At approximately 8:45 a.m. Eastern Time, the first of two commercial jet liners were hijacked and piloted as kamikazes into The World Trade Center. A bit later, a third jet was flown into our national military headquarters, the Pentagon. What ensued was a national nightmare of carnage, fear, blood, confusion and an imminent loss of national security. Literally hours after the collision, the towers of the World Trade Center gave way, toppling down and permanently scarring the horizon of freedom they had so recently represented.

Today, I witnessed the largest act of terrorism in American history, the most horrific toll of human life propagated on American soil by an outside enemy. Similar to those individuals who experienced Pearl Harbor, my memory will be forever transfixed of my exact location and personal anguish upon being informed of the tragic events.

My heart grieves for those who lost their lives today. Though as shady and gray as is the Manhattan skyline tonight, there looms an ever-present force, symbolized across near waters by her burning torch and proud stance. That force is liberty.

It is the threshold of America. It represents one of the “Inalienable Rights” our forefathers sought after and obtained. No single event can erode our fundamental principles of liberty and freedom. So let us be proud and cherish who we are and what we represent. Let us dedicate a portion of our heart to this day. And most importantly, let us look to tomorrow and follow her ever-pervasive light of liberty, which shines throughout the world and makes us proud to be Americans.

Jeremy S. Franklin