Every generation seems to have that one outstanding event, where each person can relate, and tell you exactly where they were and exactly what they were doing when said event took place. For my Parents generation the assassination of president Kennedy seems to stand out as that unforgettable moment, for my grandparent, the attack on Pearl Harbor seems to stand out. Well for me, and probably for anyone in my generation, the event that we can all relate to and tell you exactly where we were and exactly what we were doing, as well as where or who we heard the news from, is the attack on the World Trade Centers in New York City. I remember I was talking with my friends at school, and they were all talking about the “explosion” and the “plane” and the “attack”, I was very confused, until class was back in session and our principle got on the loud speaker. She explained what happened and we all had a moment of silence. I will never forget that moment as long as I live, or the expression of worry on everybody’s faces when they found out.
For me I heard this news first from my peers at school, which were all a bunch of elementary school children. As you can imagine the stories were embellished a little, and usually very flawed, but they still knew what had happened, just not all the facts. Being a young child, I didn’t really understand the magnitude of what had just taken place in our country, in fact it wasn’t until many years later when I realized what exactly had happened to our country, physically and psychologically. I was in my own little world in Palmdale, so I didn’t realize the kind of panic that our country was going through.
Hearing a million different stories from people, I turned to my parents for enlightenment on the situation, which I think is a normal thing for children. They explained to me the actual events and told me about it then they turned on the news. I remember they kept replaying the collision, over and over, as if they didn’t believe it, and then the building collapsed which was even more difficult to comprehend. I didn’t realize it at the time but now thinking back I realize how vulnerable everybody was on that moment, nobody knew how to react, because how can you plan for something of that magnitude to happen.
The reason that I believed the News, is because it was actually happening, all the events were taking place and they didn’t leave it up to interpret, it just was exactly what it looked like. There was no room for embellishment, because it was happening in real time. I know now that those children at school were not a good way of obtaining information they were in fact not a credible source. When you are young you are very naive and susceptible to lies. I know now not to believe everything I hear, and before reacting I do research of my own. The way you know something is a credible source, is because it is recognized as a credible source. Major news networks and newspapers have to have facts and not opinions (for the most part) because their reputation is at stake.
No comments:
Post a Comment