It seems inappropriate to wish anyone a "Happy Patriot Day", because commemorating September 11th with the preface of "happy" seems just wrong in so many ways. So, today is Patriot Day, a day of remembrance and solidarity. The nation has fractured greatly since 9-11, but the events of that day did one thing - it proved that when necessary, we could put aside our differences and simply become Americans, once again.
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Patriot Day - a day that we would rather we had never lived through, and a day that we really can't and shouldn't forget. |
Did that ability to join together in a single cause last? Of course not. It was the collective breath of a nation taken and held in horror as we watched the Two Towers fall and heard the bravery of the passengers on a single flight cause their aircraft to impact the ground in Pennsylvania - purposefully caused by those who refused to allow their transport to be used as a weapon against our nation. All held breaths must be released and we must breathe again.
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So many conflicts and deaths have happened since 9-11. After all, it's been 22 years - an entire generation has been born and grown up into adults without the memory of 9-11. Nonetheless, it was a crucial turning point in our international footprint, and had echoes and repercussions for years afterward. |
It's been 22 years since the 9-11 attacks, and many people are in this nation who were not here when that event occurred. That binding thread that pulled us together as a nation has shredded a bit, aged a bit, faded a bit, but down deep, below all of the fractures and chasms, is a solid foundation of national unity and pride. It's something we lose sight of all too often these days. It's a banner that gets pulled out of the hall closet once a year to wave proudly and then it's replaced on the top shelf, not to return for another year.
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We live in a fractured society in a fractured world, and we wonder why there is no peace. Maybe it's impossible for nations to actually achieve peace. But if you can reach out to another person and help them, sere them as a valuable person, and maybe make a difference in their life, you might be achieving peace for both of you. Try it. |
But if we, as a nation, are to survive for another 200+ years, it's a banner that needs to be out, waving in the wind alongside other momentous events. Not pulled out and discussed once a year, but remembered on the odd days - like thoughts might turn to Pearl Harbor, or the Civil War, or the War of Independence - all of which were horrific, but which helped this nation grow and mature. We're not perfect. We're not anywhere close to that. But we're still the shining light in the hopes of millions of people around the world, and I think we sometimes lose sight of that in the reflected glare.
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This quote is from the wife of the pilot of the Pennsylvania plane - the one that the passengers forced to crash rather than allow it to continue onward to become a weapon of war. Brave people, brave actions, and often only an afterthought when thinking about the events of that terrible day. Don't put their actions on the sidelines. They were heroes as much as everyone who died in New York. |
Today is your opportunity, as an American (if you're one of my US readers) to remember. But please, carry that thought of a united nation through into tomorrow, and next week, next month and next year. Understand that everyone's life is different, but celebrate those differences. Acknowledge them and honor them as long as they are not harmful to others. Allow others to walk their own pathway, knowing that all of us share a single goal of peace and prosperity for all. But also, realize that is a goal and we haven't reached it yet. There's a lot of work that still needs to be done before we can call our democratic experiment successful. Just do your part. Make someone's life better today and every day. Give when you can - goods, money, time ... they are all valuable and helpful. And most of all, BE KIND. Treat people the way you would like to be treated - with respect and honor.
I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and let's never forget September 11, 2001.
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