John W. Eyster: Reflecting on 9/11's 14th anniversary
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What do YOU remember of TUESDAY, the 11th of September 2001? I know I was watching morning news on TV. I know I saw the first live TV report on WMTV, Madison – the NBC affiliate – at 7:51 am WI time. IF you want to see the summary of first news reports on TV, you can watch via YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDv3_KfdBs4.
WARNING: The videos cited are very graphic and may be troubling for some viewers. You choose to watch at your own risk. Carefully consider letting young children watch.
For the summary review of 9/11/2001 in New York City (note that this report focuses only on New York City) you can watch this via History Channel video.
Here are some more videos worth considering:
—CNN report on the attack at the Pentagon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxV2X0vwSas
—CBS video showing the earliest footage of the Flight 93 crash in Shanksville, Pennsylvania: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POkBYsJKU3E
—A very, very shocking video, not for the faint hearted (18+ ONLY) that shows persons jumping from World Trade Center towers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2LxmESkV0Q
There are numerous other videos that you can find using a browser.
That Tuesday morning, 9/11/2001, I did not know I would be teaching a new course, “Terrorism” at University of Wisconsin – Rock County. The UW Colleges Political Science Chair mandated that I would develop and teach a new course, “Terrorism” at UW-Rock County. That meant that UW-Rock County was the first of the UW 2-year campuses to teach a course focused on “Terrorism.” It is important to note that UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee and other 4-year UW campuses had various courses which dealt with terrorism long before 9/11. 9/11 was NOT the birthday of terrorism which has had a long reality in human history!
On September 10, 2011, the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I posted a report on this WE THE PEOPLE column series, “UW-Waukesha students reflecting on 9/11/2001 – 10th Anniversary.” I invite you to read that column and again reflect on the question of last year, “How We've Changed–9/11 Ten Years Later.” Now, are their significant difference of how we've changed 4 years later?
Updating on this 14th anniversary, I suggest you read CNN's feature, “How has terror changed in the years since 9/11?” by Tim Lister, published Thursday and updated early Friday morning. He cites Former CIA Acting Director Mike Morell concluding his article, "We are likely to look back at the last 14 years as only the opening salvo in what will be a very long war." The article is a valuable overview of developments with updates of terrorism since 9/11/2001. Very informative.
What are YOUR thoughts/comments on this 14th anniversary of 9/11? I'll be reading with special interest.
John W. Eyster lives in the Edgerton area. He is an adjunct professor assigned with the online/distance education faculty of Viterbo University, LaCrosse. He continues his personal mission supporting democracy/civics education in Wisconsin K-12 schools through Project Citizen, We the People, Discovering Democracy (Milton HS). John is a community blogger and is not a part of The Gazette staff or management.