102 minutes that changed america

yes, i was up late again last night! i couldn't sleep because too many awesome things were on t.v. i totally had to watch them because i missed them earlier in the day.
well, before i drifted off to sleep(after watching the replay of oprah) i watched a documentary on the history channel called "102 minutes that changed america". it was really deep and heartbreaking. it's like you can't help but cry as you watch your brothers and sisters deeply engulfed in a major tragedy and you can't turn away from watching everything unfold though you're helpless to help. it's like watching "the titanic", though you know the outcome, you totally keep hoping and praying everyone will be saved.
one thing that was remarkable in my mind as i watched the firefighters preparing to go into the second tower after the first one had fallen(my eyes couldn't help welling up with tears as i looked at their beautiful velvety black uniforms with the yellow striping and neon yellow reflector stripe patches) i thought they just looked like superheroes in black uniforms marching off to save the day~no one could have expected they'd be going in too late and the next tower would be collapsing within minutes/seconds. then as i watched the firefighters that were able to make it out after that tower fell,(huffing for air and needing water because of the gray billowing smoke~and still their then gray ashen uniforms were still beautiful to me), i cried so hard as they were just in shock knowing they just came out without some of their brothers. i don't think one ever wants to witness a person "go crazy" right before their eyes and i saw some "civilians" do just that as others were running away from the huge cloud of gray smoke, glass, and other debris. i hope we won't ever experience anything like that ever again.
sometimes i've pondered why certain stations air documentaries on the tragedy year after year since it occurred and last night it hit me that it's because we need to be mindful of it~every year so that we can stay awake and do our best to prevent that from happening to us ever again. i've heard it said that 'if you don't remember your history you leave yourself open to make the same horrible mistakes over and over again'. we should never be so vulnerable and caught off guard again.
i have a very multi-cultured family so i have christian, jewish, muslim, agnostic, buddhist and maybe even atheist relatives/friends~but the one thing we all live in is tolerance of our differences. it saddened me that so many people attacked people of the muslim faith after 9/11 because what type of mentality does that breed? we should know that not everyone that has that faith believes in the jihad in such an extreme way. i do not believe it helps to fight hate with more hate. so, i hope as we're cautious in our neighborhoods, cities, states and in this country we will not breed more hate and lose the ability to be tolerant because i was always taught that's what this country was initially built on~tolerance, freedom from monarchy, equality, and safety from persecutions of one's beliefs.
i hope you all will have a lovely weekend and remember our troops in your prayers/thoughts/meditations. no matter how you feel about the war, they still need us to be pulling for their safe return home!
thanks for reading!
abrazos,
bella