The Fallen will always be remembered, but the Living are the true monument to This Day..
Forget about bumper sticker sloganeering and frothing politicians, who will forever use horrific tragedies to dream up new wars for young men to slog through the mud to fight and die in. The real takeaway from the morning of the September 11th attacks is in the story of a people who mustered the courage not to flee in the face of unimaginable horrors, but rather run into burning buildings to save thousands of people they barely knew.
Many people would have you believe that we're a cowardly species, who would tuck our tail and run for the hills in a time of panic. This is, of course, Completely False. We all saw a glimpse that morning of what unites us, of who we are, and of the Love and Community that sustains us through even our darkest hours.
I realize we'll be bombarded with the constant imagery of those gruesome attacks today, and that some of the more twisted among us will seize the opportunity to bring us ISIS/ISIL or Muslim Extremism into the conversation; but I'd say to them, and to you, that today is not the time to talk about terrorism.
Instead, on the anniversary of that terrible September morning, we should perhaps consider honoring those lost by talking about and celebrating Heroism. Instead of talking about our stark (and exaggerated) differences in political, cultural, religious or social ideology, let's take time today to love and embrace those things that bind us together in a more perfect Union: such as the Heroic nature we saw on display that morning. It is our greatest strength, and as we saw that fateful morning, it can be shaken, but it will never, ever be defeated...
