Ten House, Liberty Street.

Ten House, Liberty Street.

A moment of reflection on events of twenty years ago.

When people say what were you doing when 9/11 happened I can tell them exactly what I was doing. It was nine days before my wedding and myself, my wife to be and our daughter, her bridesmaid and her son who had driven up from London to spend the weekend with us to finalise the plans for the wedding.

I can remember feeling very excited at the thought of being married. It was on our way back in the car from Cheltenham that we heard the reports coming from New York on the radio. Myself being an aircraft enthusiast I couldn't comprehend what I was hearing. In my mind I was saying to myself it must have been a malfunction on the aircraft.

It was when we were approaching our house that we heard a second aircraft had hit the other tower and I knew then that it was no accident or malfunction. We were all horrified at what we were now seeing on our television screen.

This week I have been watching 9/11 a day in America on National Geographic as I still find it so hard to comprehend how a human being can cause so much pain and suffering to another. In the programme I watched this evening it focused on the brave men of Ladder Ten at Ten House, Liberty Street. This is the fire house situated right at what was the foot of the Twin Towers. They were the first firemen to enter the towers. It seems ironic that it is on Liberty Street that those brave souls and then many other first responders approached the burning building it was not a vision of Liberty but it must have seemed like hell on earth.

I have heard over the years from different politicians that since the second world war there has been relative peace in our time. I cannot agree with them as we have seen terrible acts of aggression and genocide from places around the world that include the Lebanon, the Falklands, the Balkans, twice in Iraq, Syria , Israel, here in the UK, Rhuwanda, the far East and the other parts of the Middle East.

As a strong believer in the non - aggression principle it really pains my heart to see so much hate, aggression and suffering.

The human race must find a different way and approach in the interaction of different people of the world. With the chaotic pull out from Afghanistan over the past couple of weeks I have said to myself many times was it all worth it?

In the madness of that horrific place of New York on 9/11 there were so many acts of kindness from one person to another and where people of all nationalities came together to help each other.

It's time to reflect and find a better way for everyone.

Glenville Gogerly EADW - Libertarian Party (UK) Chairman.