09-11-2011 Day Of Remembrance

Today is Tuesday, September 11,2012. Exactly eleven years ago I received a phone call from my sister telling me that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center Towers in New York City. I turned on the news and found myself watching in horror as a second plane went into the remaining tower. From that point on I watched horrified at the scenes being played out on the news. A third plane crashing into the Pentagon in Washington, DC - a fourth stopped from its destination of the White House by the passengers; but it too, crashed in a field in Pennsylvania killing everyone on board. Over 3,000 people killed in the most horrendous act of terrorism in modern American history. On this day, Americans are gathering together to remember the victims of this attack. We put our differences aside and find ourselves looking at the past; and we should. Yet, we also need to look at our present and the future. Eleven years ago we were a country that was divided. We were bickering over who actually won the presidential election. The truth is we were acting like children. Then a disaster occurred. We stopped and stood in silence as the reality of the attack was forced into our minds. Over and over we watched the planes slam into the World Trade Centers, the Pentagon, and that field in Pennsylvania. Over and over we listened to the conversations that took place between those who died and the loved ones they left behind. Many of us know exactly where we were and what we were doing when the events unfolded before our bewildered eyes. Suddenly it didn't matter who was president. We gathered together, joining in our sorrow of the lives taken that day. The moms, dads, grampas, grammas, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters. We called them all Americans who died that day- even though they included individuals from every country of the world. The world mourned with us as well and we turned together as one to the one person who could give us some sort of reason or explaination. That's right we turned to our president. All arguing ended as we listened to President George W Bush as he took charge and brought us through the nightmare we found ourselves in. Was he perfect? No, but how many of us are. At that moment and time he was what we needed and we took. The world became astonished for we Americans put aside our differences and became one. We stood tall and worked hard at overcoming the shock we had suffered. We rose and as one moved to finding a path toward healing and helping one another. We stood together proud and strong holding true to our American Dream and beliefs. Now, today let us gather again to remember the loss, but let us also remember that when we put aside our differences we are an even stronger country. Let us stop the bickering and the raging and ranting of us versus them. Let us gather together and work to build a more America which is true to its goals of being a "government of the people, by the people, and for the people. All the people. Just ad the terrorist attack eleven years ago did not discriminate the dead let us not discriminate the living. May God bless you all. And may you all remember the sacrifice of that day and of the sacrifices that have been made since that day.!