Today is September 11th. It is a day that marks a change it the world we all knew. Many people died that day, some of them guilty of nothing more than getting up and not calling in sick to work or making their flight on time, others dying as true heroes, putting their lives and welfare out of their minds as they rushed into a massive burning building in an attempt to save their fellow humans. They will not be forgotten. Those people stand for something, whether they were innocent victims or threw themselves into the jaws of hell willingly to try to save others. They died because they were Americans. Some of them weren't citizens, they may have just been visiting our country, but at the time they died they were citizens as much as any other. The attacks of 9/11 were a blow against the freedom that this country stands for. Honestly, it doesn't matter who ultimately engineered the attack, it was a direct assault to living in a world where people are free to make their own choices. I've noticed that today everyone has either 'liked' or posted on Facebook about 9/11. "We won't forget" and "Always remembered" are the favorites it seems. Are we really telling the truth, though? DO we remember? Yes, we remember the attack, but have we really stopped to look at WHY they happened? Have we changed our way of thinking in any way? To me it seems that the best way to honor those who died that day would be to live well. To throw off the reigns of oppression, stand proudly waving our flag and scream to the world "Look at us! You attacked us and still we stand defiant! We are strong and we are free and we will never change that!" Unfortunately we HAVE changed that. We have given up freedoms almost daily since those attacks of that day. We cower in lines at airports because the government tells us we should be afraid to fly. We've allowed phone taps and security checks and all manner of foul things all in the name of 'safety' so we don't need to worry about things. We let fear rule our lives now, instead of freedom. We have failed to realize that an animal in the zoo is undoubtably safer from the dangers of life than an animal running free, but which one has a better quality of living? We honor those people that fell on the anniversary of the happening, but we don't really do anything in our day to day lives to make their deaths meaningful. We argue and bicker about politics instead of standing together as a country. We let more and more of those precious freedoms slip through our fingers as we are busy screaming about which one is right. I've watched what is happening during the election campaigns and honestly, for the first time in my life, I'm ashamed to call myself an American. I was completely disgusted by the elections 4 years ago, I thought it was a complete and total media circus, but this one far surpasses that one in pettiness and viscousness. The country that is supposed to stand together against all enemies foreign and domestic is turning on itself like a pack of rabid dogs. So, on this day, the anniversary of 9/11/2001- I ask you, as Americans, as people- to look around you, take stock of just one freedom that has been given up since those attacks and ask yourselves if the cage that is being built around you is for security and safety, or just another thing taking your freedom away. Honor those fallen men and women through free thinking and free living, as opposed to putting up another Facebook post.