Twenty-Three

Looking back, 9/11 seems a little different this year. It seems so different because it’s an election year. Election years are just awkward and often challenging, but I would suppose they are in any nation across the globe. Things are tense, and the unity of this country is teetering on edge. The citizenry of the US is feeling heightened frustration as every politically motivated media story unfolds. America has moved further and further toward a polarization I never thought I would experience in my lifetime, but alas, I am speaking words countless others have spoken throughout the history of our baby nation.

Two of our founding fathers lamented this exact thing as they struggled to birth this nation. If you doubt my story-telling capabilities spend a little time researching the baffling relationship of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Two men who, despite their differences in approach, were able to find unity and build the fabric of this nation. They weren’t perfect, often argued and screamed at each other, but across the most critical issues, Freedom, Independence, and Unification of the nation, they found common ground. You may disagree with some of the practices of the Founding Fathers even as you read this, but remember, they are products of their time, just as we are products of our time today. Grace and understanding are necessary.

As I look back on the solemn lessons 9/11 taught this nation, the words “We Will Never Forget,” seem like a distant whisper that is harder to hear every day. Maybe that’s because I pay too much attention to the squawking and noise from the media in this country and I need to tune it out. What I need to practice more than absorbing the political content of the day is spending time talking to my neighbors, like we did after 9/11. From those conversations, I might be able to reflect and remember the lessons of resilience and unity this country learned on that fateful day.

Neighbors tied ribbons on trees and prayed and cried together.

Neighbors found a way to stand on common ground, despite the darkness surrounding this nation in the weeks and months ahead.

We all found the indomitable spirit of America when we realized that as ONE nation, we could not, should not, and would not fall to the evils of terrorism or allow our nation to be torn in two from within. We made that choice as a country to put aside the differences we had and unite behind our grief and fight back for the soul of this nation.

We are in the same fight for the soul of our nation today. The lessons of resilience and unity we can model on the 23rd anniversary of 9/11 are more important to the survival of our republic than ever.

We are in that fight for the soul of our nation, but in a broader sense, for the stability of the world. Anger, frustration and constant acts of violence abound all over the globe. The world seems upside down as our sensibilities continue to be barraged daily with the next shock and awe event unfolding across the globe. I won’t spend time covering all the horrifying chaos happening around the globe in this article as this is an article about remembering who we were as a nation post 9/11. We need to disconnect from that chaos and start healing the soul of this country with our neighbors.

What I will state is all the chaos and upheaval within the world breaks my heart and hurts my soul. While the day after 9/11 was difficult because we woke up to a radically changed world, remembering that day is almost soothing now. It calms the pain of the events unfolding around us as it reminds us of the beauty of American people, from all walks of life, from all political parties, coming together to stand united. Americans were resolute and committed to moving forward together, despite the bruises and tears staining our faces. And we stood side by side doing just that.

There are so many things we can debate about in this country, but we cannot argue about the fact that America came together as ONE post this horrific moment in our history. And I surely hope we can figure out that oneness of spirit again this year. From all the pain and loss of 9/11, something else emerged—something powerful. It was that sense of an ability to stand shoulder to shoulder with others in unified strength. Strangers became brothers and sisters in arms as we grieved together, rebuilt together, and vowed to stand stronger than ever before. The post-9/11 world was one where humanity’s best qualities shone through the darkest of days. Service, sacrifice, and the unwavering determination to rebuild became the cornerstones of our recovery.

Churchill once astutely observed the dichotomy of the American people, “Americans will always do the right thing, only after they have tried everything else.” We fuss, we argue, just like Jefferson and Adams, but we come together just at the perfect moment and conquer the demons within.

Twenty-three years have passed since September 11, 2001, and while the passing of time is inevitable, the weight of that day has never lessened. The memories are still vivid, the pain still sharp, and the lessons learned continue to shape the way we live and are more important than ever. I’m choosing to remember the minutes and moments following that unimaginable tragedy. I am choosing this 23rd year to feel the roller coaster of feelings- the shock, grief, fear, deep profound sadness- of that fateful day, but turn those feelings into the comfort of unity and grab onto the resilience I can build by feeling them in the most human way I can.

There is something profoundly human about what 9/11 taught us. It reminded us of the fragility of life, of the importance of love and community, and of the incredible power of resilience. Time, as elusive as it is, has not dulled these truths. Instead, it has deepened their significance.

I challenge all of us to dig deep in 2023 and bring back a sense of unity and resilience to our conversations. Talk to our neighbors and remember together. Talk to strangers and build a bridge. Talk to people with vastly different beliefs and learn to find common ground.

I’ll leave you with the thoughts of a founding father who wasn’t always the easiest to get along with as a human, but an ardent believer in unity and compromise.

The longer I live, the more I read, the more patiently I think, and the more anxiously I inquire, the less I seem to know...Do justly. Love mercy. Walk humbly. This is enough. - John Adams

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