Remembrance and Reflection

The date September 11th ellicits a variety of feelings, memories and emotions for me. In 2001, I was living in Utah, which has a two hour time difference from New York and DC. I remember sitting down on the couch that morning with my breakfast and flipping on the news. Just my usual routine in getting ready for work. I remember staring at the screen trying to grasp the images that were before me. At that moment, both towers had been hit but they were both still standing. Within minutes of turning on the TV, the first tower fell. I couldn't understand what I was seeing, nor could I begin to comprehend why. As details unfolded throughout the day, and the people responsible for the scenes that are so ingrained in many of our minds, I still failed to be able to understand why this had happened. It was beyond my ability to comprehend why a group of people could hate America and her values to such an extreme that they could purposefully take the lives of innocent civilians. I still haven't been able to come to terms with the whys.
Beyond the images from that day, I reflect on our country in the days and weeks following the attacks. In those days, there were no Republicans/Democrats, rights/lefts, or Christians/Atheists. We were all just Americans. It didn't matter where you came from or how much money you had. We were all touched and changed equally. I had never felt so united as a nation as I did in those days. I look at where we are today and it really saddens me. Have we forgotten the lessons we learned on that day? Why can't we remember that in the grand scheme of things, what side of the aisle you happen to stand, really doesn't matter? Those deadly planes and the people flying them, did not discriminate on political ideals. Today of all days, I wish we could remember how close we felt to our neighbors, our friends, and our families and begin working together to make America what she should be--a nation where we can feel safe to go about our own American dream, whatever that may be. Let's put the political fighting behind us. Let's truly move forward.
We owe it to all of those men, women and children who were affected by 9/11 (which I believe to be all of us)to NEVER forget the lessons of that day. God bless...