We will always remember

On the fifth anniversary of 9/11, we are still fighting in Iraq, and a lot of people are still unsettled about terrorists' attacks.

I am a tenth grader at Catholic Central High School in Troy, and every year we have a theme for the year. This year's theme is: "In Jesus' footsteps we follow, one step at a time." The theme makes us value and understand how Jesus would act.

My family, friends, faith and life were affected by 9/11. The war on terror is an important issue close to everyone's hearts. It started after the terrorists crashed the planes into the World Trade Center and has been going on every since.

Even though the war is in Iraq, we are affected by it. Many men and women have fought for our country and have not returned home. Even more Iraqi civilians have died. My family knows people that have fought in Iraq, and thankfully they all survived. I know that not everyone is that fortunate.

My generation will always remember this, and think of the people that they knew that fought, and they will recall people they know that lost their family members in Iraq.

People my age were affected by 9/11. Our pope says, "Pray also for the terrorists, as they do not know that not only do they harm their neighbor, but above all they harm themselves."

God tells us not to discriminate because of the war in Iraq; many Islamic peoples and Muslim peoples are being persecuted. Everywhere they go, they are judged, watched and suspected by people that may not even know them. I think that it is wrong to discriminate against others because they look different than us or practice a different faith.

There are kids my age that have brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers fighting in Iraq. The war is harder on them than other people. They are always worrying when they will see their family again.

Jesus tells us, "When someone strikes you on the cheek, turn, offer them the other." Pope Benedict also reminds us that "God is love."

There is a great struggle for us to understand how to get over 9/11. We don't know how to accept the terrorists in our lives and what they mean to us. We need to understand others, not to discriminate, and practice the values that Pope Benedict has suggested.

The effects of 9/11 will remain in our hearts and prayers, and will go down in history to be thought about by future generations.

(11/16/06) [[In-content Ad]]