Remembering the Passion of 9-11-01

The clear blue skies and the crisp chill of early fall bring the memories back again. Some call it “9-11 Blue.” These are the mornings when we recall the time when most Americans lost their naivety and innocence to confront the reality of the world we live in today.

Each year we dutifully honor the lives lost in the tragedy of September 11, 2001. The pain of loss will never leave for some. For the rest of America, it pauses, it honors, and then moves on. Unfortunately, we don’t spend enough time reflecting on the magnitude of what happened on that day. There are too many other things to worry about today.

Since 9-11-01, over 6,000 American heroes have given their lives in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Another 45,000 have been wounded. Thousands of families, friends, and loved-ones grieve for the losses and the sacrifices that have come about as a result of this blatant attack on America’s ideals. Countless others struggle to help those who have returned from these wars to somehow become a part of a different kind of America than existed ten years ago when all of this began. Today’s America can seem like it’s paralyzed and confused.

Yes, we have some challenges. We have some big challenges. But, let’s not forget it wasn’t the government, or politicians, or the military, or big business that pulled us together in 2001. It was the will of the American people who established the direction we wanted to follow. We were united in a cause.

As we pause once again to honor all of those who have sacrificed on 9-11 and beyond, let’s not get distracted by the “self-interest politics” that has slowly but surely become part of the fabric of our political process today. Let’s work together to solve our debt problems, support those fighting for our freedom, fix our educational system, grow our economy, create jobs, and finally fix our health care crisis in a way that can only happen in America; a unified nation of individuals with a common purpose and a passion for liberty and democracy for all. We’ve done it before and we can do it again.

Those who have already sacrificed deserve nothing less.