American
Spirit
“If
we learn nothing from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is
not time for hate.”
Sandy
Dahl (wife of Flight 93 pilot, Jason Dahl)
Nine/eleven
will live in infamy for Americans in the same way as the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This day,
this month will never be the same, no matter how far away from it we move,
because this is the day that people who hated us used our own air planes and
our own citizens to kill almost 3,000 unsuspecting human beings. That was nineteen
years ago, and we are still recovering from it. Like Pearl Harbor, 9/11 is a
legacy of hate that will outlive every person who was there to witness those
heinous events. And yet, Sandy Dahl, whose husband perished that day,
encourages us not to commemorate his loss and the loss of so many other
innocents by repaying hate with hate. That is a powerful message—one we sorely
need today.
Of
nine-eleven, Colin Powell said, “You can be sure that the American spirit
will prevail over this tragedy.” And, for almost two decades it did. The
question for this moment is will we ourselves be the ones who destroy that
spirit? We have pulled ourselves apart without the help of terrorists. Osama
Bin Laden has nothing to do with the climate in America right now, and neither
does Saddam Hussain. This is on us.
Actually,
this has always been on us. When the events of September 11th
happened in 2001, we watched in shock and disbelief, and then we pulled
ourselves up and dove into the business of recovery. Our citizens and our
leadership pulled together—in the same direction. Our grief, our sense of loss
on that day motivated us to do everything we could—individually and
collectively—to show how much we loved one another and America. And most of the
world stood with us, grieved with us. Many of them suffered losses that day,
too. We were brothers and sisters, world citizens, who helped one another and
comforted one another. Remember that feeling?
We can
have that feeling again. We don’t have to wait for a disaster to make it
possible. All it takes is a change of heart. Remember that the American spirit
belongs to us; it comes from us. We have always risen to the occasion, and if
we can remember who we are, we will do so again. Grab a hand. Pull together. In
the same direction.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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