by R.A. Scott

Created on: January 29, 2009   Last Updated: November 07, 2011

Time heals all wounds, or at least most of them. In this case, the emotional wounds should be well healed. 7 years is a long time even for a tragedy of this magnitude. September 11, 2001 is a day that will live in the memories of Americans forever, as it should, but few people are as shaken by the images as they were 7 years ago.

The emotional impact of the downing of the Twin Towers was incalculable, even in countries outside of the USA. Politicians took advantage of the situation for their own ends and pulled on the heart strings of all. Over the years politicians have used up any emotional cache they ever had on the issue but they certainly worked it for all it was worth. George W. Bush in particular worked it for everything he could.

In hind sight it would seem that some politicians might have had an agenda with regard to the mid-east. September 11, 2001 gave them the impetus they felt they needed to attack a country that had nothing to do with the attacks. It didn't take too long before Americans began to wonder what they were doing in Iraq. The leader of the group that initiated the attack (there is no need to further glorify their names here) continues to remain alive and taunt the United States.

The so-called "Attack on America" shook the US and brought home something that had been familiar in too many other countries around the world: terrorism. For ages America had been insulated from terrorism by 2 oceans. It was always much more difficult and expensive for a terrorist group to plan and execute an attack on the United States. Finally terrorists decided to reach out and touch someone and that someone was the United States.

Europe, Asia and parts of Africa have all experienced terrorism for perhaps hundreds of years. North America has watched the mail box bombing by the Irish Republican Army in London, England. We have witnessed any number of terrorist groups in any number of countries bombing buildings and killing innocent civilians. Other terrorist outfits have kidnapped civilians, tortured them and done various other nasty and vile things. North Americans have watched with a smug resignation; well it happens there but it could never happen over here.

Seven years is a long time and while people tend to exaggerate their emotions time truly does dull the pain. It's not that people have forgotten what has happened but rather the event does not affect them as greatly as it once did. The television reports were truly shocking and stunned everyone who saw them at the time. That shock has diminished and will continue to do so over time. That is the good thing about time; your emotions and feelings become a wee bit more dulled than they were at the time. The more time that passes the more the impact of that day will lessen.

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