Attack On My Family

It's been a week of heartache and fear. I'm trying to sort through my feelings of the tragedy that has been forced onto innocent and unknowing Americans. When I first heard the radio news broadcast, it was hard to comprehend how serious it all was. Not seeing pictures, trying to absorb the words that were being spoken seemed all too unreal. Standing with co-workers around a radio with looks of shock and disbelief was more than I could stand. I was torn between just running out of our building to rush home and staying at work in order not to jeopardize my having a job. My husband is American and I was worried sick about what he must be feeling and thinking. Being a Vietnam veteran, I knew that his first instinct would be to be in his homeland to help in whatever way he could. The worry about his children and grandchildren would be at the forefront of his thoughts.

As a Canadian and the wife of an American, I have been stunned by this vicious attack. Myself, as well as many other people around the world and especially Americans will be asking themselves "why"? Why did this happen to civilians, and how did this terrorism happen so easily? Many questions are going to surface and at the same time the whole world must sit and wait for the inevitability of a war. I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would agree to retaliation of this sort, but I have resolved myself to the fact that there is no other way to rid humanity of terrorism. It's time for all of us to stand up for the freedom we have taken for granted. Freedom has always come with a price. We, of the free democratic world have become complacent and nonchalant about our lives and the freedom we have come to enjoy. This freedom has not come without a price. World War 1, World War 2 and those who fought in those wars are the reason we enjoy freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, the right to vote, the right to travel freely, the right to worship in whatever faith we believe, and much more. The very rights that we expect and live by have been threatened in such a manner that we now have to ask ourselves questions about our vulnerability and our future.

What seemed so important yesterday seems all too insignificant right now. Our everyday lives have now changed as of September 11, 2001. We need to take stock of what is really important. I can't help but think about the people who have

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