​ September 11th is coming – do you remember?

September 11th is coming – do you remember?

For many of us, the day is burned into our memory. We witnessed two planes crashing into the World Trade Center Towers, bringing them down, another plane into the Pentagon, and yet another crashing into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It was a day that we saw 2,977 people killed, with over 25,000 injuries, and substantial long-term health consequences. September 11th, 2001, was the single deadliest incident for firefighters and law enforcement officers in United States history, 343 and 72 killed, respectively.

We also saw boundless heroism and patriots from all races, colors, and creeds respond with courage, dedication, and compassion in the aftermath. In the face of these terrorist attacks, our Nation rIt allied together as one. President Bush called it “a day when all Americans from every walk of life unit in our resolve for justice and peace.” Thousand donated blood, and many Americans joined our military to defend our Nation.

America was united in purpose and cause without regard to where we were from, what party we belonged too, or what gender; we were all Americans that day.

Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, something unanticipated happened: a strong bond of unity among Americans. We are one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Today, our Nation faces new challenges from COVID 19, racial problems, global competitors, rogue nations, and terrorists.

Despite these challenges, one fact remains, as long as “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all [people] are created equal, that their Creator endows them with certain unalienable Rights, "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” No threat will ever overcome us as long as we believe in a "government of the people, by the people, for the people. That in the words of the American creed from 1918 that we remain a nation based on the “freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.”

So this September 11th, take a moment in silence and reflect on what happened on this day in history.

Have we forgotten?

The answer is in each of us.