Sept.
11, 2001, was a transformative event for all of us as we witnessed the horrors of that day and the aftermath. We had no way of knowing how our lives would change, but we instinctively knew when 19 terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jets and then crashed them into the twin towers at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and into the ground just outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania, change was coming. Today marks the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks a day where almost 3,000 people were killed and more than 6,000 injured.
Although we tried to return to our normal lives after the attacks, normal was never the same. We watched our kids play fall sports that weekend after 9/11, but in the sky not a single commercial aircraft could be spotted. They were grounded.
Instead, we could see the occasional contrails of large military aircraft designed to refuel other planes while airborne. We could also hear the roar of fighter jets taking off and landing at Burlington International Airport. In between, it was eerily quiet.
But it was that pile of burning rubble in New York City where the twin towers once stood that haunted us. When we saw the destruction, we became acutely aware how vulnerable we were to attacks, and it also heightened our anger at those that did this to us. We prayed for the victims; we wept for those who were in pain; we hugged those who were safe; and we praised our heroes of that day especially our first responders and the passengers on United Flight 93 who tried to take back their hijacked airliner, causing it to crash well short of its intended target, either the Capitol or White House.
New laws were passed in an effort to protect our citizens. We began enhanced surveillance operations that snooped not only on potential enemies, but also everyday citizens. At airports we beefed up security that resulted in all sorts of objects being banned from commercial aircraft.
We installed full-body scanners and incorporated them in our screening process. Armed air marshals were deployed to board random flights and provide enhanced security. We went to war, first in Afghanistan and then in Iraq, and although our military victories seemed decisive at the outset, peace has been illusive for the last 15 years.
As a country, we have done much with the hopes of protecting Americans and much has changed in this country in pursuit of our safety since 9/11; but even after all we ve done, the question that is most asked, is this: Are we safer? By most accounts we are safer, but we are not entirely safe. And how you define and achieve safety is a fundamental issue of the 2016 presidential election.
For example, Donald Trump sees it as limiting immigration and building up and projecting American military power throughout the world in an effort to be safe. Hillary Clinton s foreign and military policy is more constrained, less confrontational, and in the case of immigration, less restrictive than Trump s, but still designed with the concept of American safety in mind. Only time will tell who wins this debate.
As we remember the single deadliest terror attack in history, it is important to continue to reflect on the past and ponder our future. But most of our reflections today should be about remembering those who died in these attacks, as well as those that have been killed in conflicts as a result of 9/11. The greatest respect we can give these victims is in the simple act of remembering them.
Mike Smith is the host of the radio program, Open Mike with Mike Smith, on WDEV 550 AM and 96.1, 96.5 and 101.9 FM. He is also a political analyst for WCAX-TV and WVMT radio and a regular contributor to The Times Argus and Rutland Herald. He was the secretary of administration and secretary of human services under former Gov.
Jim Douglas.