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My Reflection on 9/11

I remember 9/11 like it was yesterday.  I was a manager at a paint store and one of the large contracts came in and said that something major was happening on the East Coast.  We turned on the Television and that television didn't get turned off all day long.  We closed the store, watched the news, and sat in absolute bewilderment at every new update...8:46am Flight 11 with 92 people aboard crashes into the North Tower of the World Trade Center....9:03am Flight 175 with 65 people aboard crashes into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.....9:37am Flight 77 with 64 people aboard crashes into the Western facade of the Pentagon in Washington D.C......10:07am After passengers aboard Flight 93 mount an attack on the terrorists who took over the plane, the terrorists deliberately crash the plane into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, killing all 40 passengers and crew aboard.....9:59am The South Tower of the World Trade Center collapses.....10:28am The North Tower of the World Trade Center collapses.....5:21pm Seven World Trade Center collapses.....Final death toll was 2,977 victims and 19 hijackers....

It felt as though it wasn't possible, as if it were a dream and not reality.  Thinking back, it is impossible for anyone who wasn't there on the ground to truly understand the horror of that day.  Thank God for the passengers of flight 93.  They were heroes on that day; stopping the attack from being any worse than it already had become.

I think about the first responders and others who helped and ran toward the danger rather than away from it.  Those who assisted in clearing the rubble, looking for people who were trapped, and over time, slowly rebuilding the entire area.

Through all of the tragedy, however, I remember one very major thing that happened after that horrible day that will never be forgotten.  Everyone in the United States and around the world came together in solidarity.  There was no political partisanship and infighting.  There was only moving forward in unity.  That is where we need to get back to as a nation.

If we learned anything as a nation after 9/11, it is that we are STRONGER TOGETHER.

Why can't we realize that in today's America?  Why can't we work together toward the common goal of making our lives better as a whole?

Reflect on that today, and wake up tomorrow and talk with someone who has differing opinions than you.  Don't argue....listen.  Realize that we all have a common thread we can pull and unify behind; we just need to talk and listen to one another.  Don't be Republicans and Democrats.  Be Americans.  Be Mothers, Sisters, Fathers, Sons, Grandfathers, Grandmothers, Uncles, Aunts.  Be people who care about family and friends and who care about the future of this country.  Be in that space, and move forward with that in mind.  My daughters deserve better than we are currently giving them for a future.  All of our children and grandchildren deserve better than what we are currently leaving them.

To those who lost their lives on 9/11, who have lost their lives due to illness caused by 9/11, those who have survived but have to live with the loss and health issues, and those who lost family and friends....I love you.

Close your eyes and remember....

DUNK


Comments

LeH said…
True. I remember exactly where I was, the same as I do when Kennedy was assassinated. Days that affect us forever. Coming together is what we are missing. I pray for that.
5:40 AM
stephendunkel said…
Very True. Thank you for the comment LeH! It is greatly appreciated.
12:03 PM
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