The Man Falling From the Sky

When 9/11 hit, I was a year old, on the other side of the country, and watching Sesame Street. I don't even remember that. When my mom tells the story of how she felt during 9/11, that's the way she starts it; she was sitting with me, watching Sesame Street.

So when the anniversary of this tragic event rolls around every year, I feel unqualified to even talk about it. I have no recollection of it, and even if I did, I would just remember my mother screaming while she watched red and yellow fireworks. Sure, now I would know what those fireworks were, but it still wouldn't have as much of an impact on me as it did on my mom.

That said, I feel that this image helps me understand it a little bit better. It always amazes me how people can feel so powerless that they decide to fall to their deaths. So, this image shows how much power was robbed from America on that date. Fourteen years later, this tragedy still hits people as fresh as it did the day the event occurred. Most Americans have this image of the USA as a superpower, which is true most of the time... except when it's not. This image captures what happens when one is out of options, when he has to decide what's more important: controlling his fate, or letting it control him.