It seems more fresh to me than 14 years ago...
Perhaps I empathized a little too much with everyone in lower Manhattan that day, but who didn't? All those images though... they are forever etched in my mind.
Maybe we've all had a secret, borderline-unhealthy fascination with September 11, 2001, but I have wanted to know literally everything about it - exactly what happened, and why - since then.
I have spent hundreds of hours watching YouTube videos, documentaries, actual news feed replays, conspiracy theories, etc. I've read the official 9/11 Commission Report. Twice. From cover-to-cover. I've wondered why just like you are right about now, but the only way I know how to explain it is, simply, I felt like I had to.
Even on other days throughout the year, I have found myself researching, or watching something surrounding the worst attacks on our nation since Pearl Harbor. Not every day, but often... and again, I just felt compelled to do so.
It's also a possibility, however, I'm just getting older, and time seems to slip by a bit faster as I age. There's that, but I've met several people who were there, and have lived it through their personal experiences as well.
More than anything else, it was obvious to me how we were a member of the same family that day. We all witnessed the ugliest day in my lifetime, but in the midst of it, we cried together, hugged each other, held hands, prayed, and were just a little nicer to random strangers; Black, White, Hispanic, Asian... our differences disappeared for that blink of an eye.
When faced with our own mortality, though, we seem to be hard-wired to shut off that part of ourselves that pre-judges, and we become something better; helping one another more than ever without hesitation or reservation.
I don't think we will ever forget 9/11/01, but I believe that we can be more conscientious, compassionate, and respectful people all the time just like we were in one moment. That humanitarian spirit of the American Family I witnessed on one day in history is the reason I cannot let go of the day, or my belief in US!
In many ways, it seems like a lifetime ago, but I suppose 14 years isn't such a long time in the grand scheme of 'things' after all. Where we stand now, though, I seriously doubt anyone would ever believe we were ever on one accord... even for a second unless they saw it like I did.
I challenge everyone - on this, and every other day - to focus on the things we have in common first. It will be easier to appreciate and respect our differences ensuing. May we all make an effort to resurrect the American Family that was born during the tragedy of 9/11. It's all-inclusive and forever, not just a snapshot in time when we found beauty in a negative space. After 14 years, and for the sake of those who made the ultimate sacrifice, I think we owe it to ourselves to at least try.
Thank you all!
Jeffrey S.Hales
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