Reflections on 9/11/2001

9/11/01.  Another day that lives in infamy.  A day that started like any other and ended in tragedy and a fundamental change to our Nation and, I think, the greater world in which we live.  Some good, some bad.  But September 2nd was a lot different from August 31st in 2001.

3,000 people died in New York City, a field in Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon because a few hundred people on the other side of the globe decided to strike the US to show it—us—that it wasn’t invulnerable.  And they succeeded.  They wanted to make a fundamental change to how Americans lived and related to the world.  Well, they succeeded there too.  There were many ads in print and on TV that showed just how they succeeded.  The one I remember best is a video showing a street of row houses.  The voiceover says “On September 11th, terrorists tried to change America forever.”  Pause.  "Well, they succeeded.”  The ad starts with just a normal row of houses and then changes to each house with an American flag flying proudly out front.  At the end, there’s a simple white screen where the words “Freedom.  Appreciate it.  Cherish it.  Protect it.” slowly appear.

On this 25th Day of Remembrance, I want to challenge everyone—progressive, MAGA, atheist, evangelical, Democrat, Republican, brown, black, yellow, white and all the other flavors of human beings we have in our Nation to reflect on what happened that day in 2001.  I want to ask every one of you who 25 years ago said “Never forget.” and meant it what happened.  We know what happened in the outside world.  We went to war for 20 years.  We elected a number of politicians who were firsts in their fields, most notably Obama and Trump.  We locked ourselves a little further down in our fear.  But what happened inside you and me?  Why, exactly, did you and I forget?  Because we did.  25 years on from 9/11, we are more divided than at any time since the Vietnam War.  We are not nice people to those we disagree with.  We are apparently happy with being rude to our global friends and polite, comfortable even, with those we have called adversaries, enemies even.  We are not today who we were on September 2nd, 2001.  We are not united.  Deny it if you will.  Or admit it and use it for your fractious purposes.  The fact remains that we did forget.  

Let’s fix that.  Now.  Never forget.

TK

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