4 - The Desire to Help the National Group

Summary

When two planes crashed into the World Trade Center and one plane crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, Americans were shocked and horrified. The initial reaction was to sit in stunned silence, intently watching the news to find out what was going on. But many Americans quickly realized they needed to do something, whatever they could, to help. In Ohio, people donated blood, raised money, and bought flags “to show we're unified.” “People were hurting, hundreds of miles away. But it wasn't too far for Northeast Ohioans to do whatever they could … to help” (Albrecht 2001). In Indiana, a mother offered her child-support money, a retired nurse donated food and all of the money she had in her wallet, and local radio stations raised money at the rate of $5,000 per hour because, in the words of a local car dealer, “We're all a part of it” (Kilborn 2001). In Nebraska, young children emptied their piggy banks in an effort to help, and local supermarkets and fast-food restaurants raised thousands of dollars (McCord 2001). And in Utah, a four-year-old girl donated all of the money from her Barbie fund and was hailed as an “example of what a true American is all about” (Burr 2001). Newspapers from across the United States told similar stories in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Americans came together to help their fellow Americans in New York City and Washington, D.C., by doing whatever they could.