Remembering 9/11 While Critiquing Our
Current Political and Social Climate
On Saturday, September 11, 2021 I spent most of the day listening to the speeches and programs surrounding the events of 9/11. One of the most interesting speeches and I might add powerful speeches was given by former Pres. George Bush at the 9/11 Memorial Cemetery in Pennsylvania. I want to share part of the speech with you.
Pres. George Bush:
In those fateful hours, we learned other lessons as well. We saw that Americans were vulnerable, but not fragile. That they possessed a core of strength that survives the worst that life can bring. We learned that bravery is more common than we imagine, emerging with sudden splendor in the face of death. We vividly felt how every hour with our loved ones was a temporary and holy gift. And we found that even the longest days end.
Many of us have tried to make spiritual sense of these events. There is no simple explanation for the mix of Providence and human will that sets the direction of our lives. But comfort can come from a different sort of knowledge. After wandering in the dark, many have found they were actually walking step-by-step toward grace.
As a nation, our adjustments have been profound. Many Americans struggle to understand why an enemy would hate us with such zeal. The security measures incorporated into our lives are both sources of comfort and reminders of our vulnerability. And we have seen growing evidence that the dangers to our country can come not only across borders but from violence that gathers within.
There’s little cultural overlap between violent extremist abroad and violent extremist at home. But in their disdain for pluralism, and their disregard for human life, in their determination to defile national symbols, they are children of the same foul spirit, and it is our continuing duty to confront them.
In the weeks and months following the 9/11 attacks, I was proud to lead an amazing, resilient united people. When it comes to the unity of American people, those days seem distant from our own. Malign force seems at work in our common life that turns every disagreement into an argument and every argument into a clash of cultures. So much of our politics has become a negative appeal to anger, fear and resentment. That leaves us worried about solutions. I can only tell you what I have seen.
On America’s day of trial and grief I saw millions of people instinctively grab for a neighbor’s hand and rally to the cause of one another. That is the America I know. At a time when religious bigotry might have flowed freely, I saw Americans reject prejudice and embrace people of the Muslim faith. That is the nation I know. At a time when nativism could have stirred hatred and violence against people perceive as outsiders, I saw Americans reaffirm their welcome to immigrants and refugees. That is the nation I know. At a time when some viewed the rising generation as individualistic and decadence, I saw young people embrace and ethnic of service and rise to selfless action. That is the nation I know.
This is not mere nostalgia, it is the truest version of ourselves. It is what we have been, and what we can be again. 20 years ago, terrorists chose a random group of Americans on a routine flight to be collateral damage in a spectacular act of terror. The 33 passengers and seven crew of flight 93 could have been any group of citizens selected by fate. In a sense, they stood in for us all.
The terrorists soon discovered that a random group of Americans is an exceptional group of people, facing an impossible circumstance. They comforted their loved ones by phone, braced each other for action and defeated the designs of evil.
These Americans were brave, strong and united in ways that shocked the terrorists but should not surprise any of us. This is the nation we know. And whenever we need hope and inspiration, we can look to the skies and remember.
God bless.
As
teachers in American schools, may we always teach our students about this
America we hope to recapture.
Bless
you my children,
Terry L. Simpson
