At that moment, everyone
knows where they were and what they were doing.
I’d gotten to the gym
at 9:00 that morning when David called to tell me to turn on the TV.
He’d been on the Internet and got IM’ed about the trouble in New York.
To me, it was truly unbelievable, seeing that plane hit the tower. I
notified the members as to what was going on and they all gathered around
our little TV set. What was going on? When the announcer broke in to say
that the Pentagon had also been attacked, people got very nervous and you
could sense the panic in their voices. The place cleared out after that.
I thought I’d check on
the two ladies at the flower shop across the street, and within that span
of time, the South Tower fell. Shocked was the reaction as we watched it,
mouths wide open in disbelief. Shortly thereafter, the North Tower fell. I
was angered. Who did this? Why? And were there any more attacks to come?
When Gov. Ruth Ann Minner
asked businesses across the state to close, we did. I went home and found
Dave angry and cussing. I think many people were. Dave’s still connected
to New York. He grew up near Buffalo and worked in Manhattan for three
years. When I came to the city for my first visit with him, where did we
go? Of course it was to see the World Trade Center and Battery Park. We
have happy memories of that special fall day. So it was personal, a hit to
our hearts—it will never be the same for us or for anyone else again.
Part of our collective memory of the Greatest City on Earth is gone,
obliterated and erased from the Manhattan skyline.
Our government suspects
that radical Islamic fundamentalists were to blame, so what do we do as a
people? We go hunting for anyone who looks Arabic or Middle Eastern, then
beat them up and destroy their businesses. We lash out at innocents just
like the terrorists have done to us. Despite pleas for the violence to
stop, innocent Americans are being victimized in a bloody backlash of
personal, hand-to-hand combat on our own soil. We know the terrorists are
mad, but do we also have to be?
Yes, we’ve been dealt a
great injustice, and need to do what’s necessary to stop the terrorists.
But we needn’t stoop to their level.
Americans started to lose
our cool a long time ago, and it’s affecting our health as a nation. It
started with road rage, which now seems to be the norm whenever you travel
the highways. We lost our sense of civility and courtesy toward our fellow
Americans. We should be better than that, whether we’re in a public
place or at home.
People get angry at
strangers who are standing in line to buy football tickets. It’s taking
too long! Well, buddy, you’re not the only one who’s waiting, so cool
it and act like a civilized human being. What makes that angry person any
more “special” than the others in line? It’s a new society of
“hurry up.” Give me what I want now—I’m more special than you.
It’s the, “do you know who I am!?” syndrome.
Rage is contributing to
high blood pressure, strokes, and heart attacks. You don’t want that to
happen to you. In the newspaper, I read about ranting and raging in the
restaurant industry.
Anger seems to be the
social trend. If your food isn’t perfect, it’s not justifiable to
throw it in the face of the person serving it to you. Would you want that
to happen to you if the situation were reversed? I don’t think so!
We’ve even resorted to
throwing pets into speeding traffic because of a minor squabble. People
are killed because of disagreements at their children’s ice hockey
games. You’ve probably seen many times on TV about the problems of
“air rage,” when a plane has to land suddenly because of an angry
passenger who was refused his sixth drink in flight.
What has happened to our
society?
It seems Jerry Falwell
and Pat Robertson are spewing their hatred toward minorities, too.
They’ve vented their anger on TV toward the feminists, gays, lesbians,
and abortion rights supporters (among others), blaming them for the
terrorist attacks. We’ve turned God’s anger against America! Huh?
These two guys are no better than the terrorists. We should be coming
together at this dark time in our history, not causing division. We are
all Americans first.
Falwell and Robertson
need to direct their anger at the terrorist menace that has befallen the
U.S. Just because I sleep with a man doesn’t make me a bad person. I
obey all laws and pay my taxes. I respect the rights of others, whether I
agree or disagree. But I am not a bad person. So I’d like to tell
Falwell and Robertson to their righteous faces: shut up.
Where do we go from here?
As a country, I don’t know. But as individuals, many of us need to
rethink where we’re going in life. We need to be more respectful of
others, have patience, and try to manage our anger in a positive way
instead of in a knee-jerk reaction to a situation. We need to use our
brains to go forward from this mess. Stop the blaming, the shouting, the
name calling, and the fighting.
Direct
that anger to a positive aspect of living. It won’t be as detrimental to
your health in the long run.
Rick
Moore is a personal trainer certified by the American Fitness
Professionals & Associates. Visit his club, Rick’s Fitness &
Health, in Milton, Delaware or www.ricksfitness.net, or call 302-684-3669.
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