I walked out of my school on that beautiful Tuesday during gym class,seeking refuge from the day's events. I had spent countless hours onthat field for football, cross country and baseball, but this timesomething stopped me in my tracks. Silence. I had grown accustomed tothe constant air traffic of planes descending at Logan Airport justacross the water, a mere five miles away. Just three hours earlier, thetwo planes that crashed into the World Trade Center Towers had taken offfive miles from our school. It was there, standing in the eerie silenceand looking at the inactivity at Logan Airport, that I began to realizethe magnitude of what had occurred.

As I watched the news for therest of the afternoon, my sadness turned to anger, and I, like millionsof Americans, promised to never forget September 11th. As I write this,months after the attacks, I see more and more people who seem to showdisinterest when referring to the attacks. My car remains one of the fewon the road from which the Stars and Stripes still fly proudly. The risein patriotism has dwindled to apathy. I had hoped that these opinionswere confined to my area, where I have become accustomed to politicalcorrectness dominating patriotism, but after traveling around thecountry, I realized this was not the case - American pride has declinedeverywhere.

I do not expect the War on Terror to befront-page news every day, I know that is not possible. Although peopleare entitled to their opinions, I feel they should realize that to keepthe beacon of freedom alive, full support of our president and of ourmilitary is needed. It is indifference that will leave us susceptible toanother attack. We must rally and stay proud - the future of our countryis at stake.