9/11 - 11 Years Later

Eleven years have passed since that horrible day when foreign terrorism first touched the shores of the United States of America. The attacks on the Pentagon, World Trade Center and the plane that crashed in that Pennsylvania field were not our first taste of terrorism. But it was our worst, and the first time foreign forces had brought it to our soil.

Some people don't understand why I don't like to talk about 9/11. They comment and post their remembrances with banners that say "We will never ever forget!" and they include all kinds of patriotic imagery. They talk of our unity to fight terrorists, and encourage us to stand up and persevere in the fight against terrorism. But, I tend to not make a big splash on this day. I tend to post very little on social media, at all, and I don't usually post those images or banners or cries for remembrance and vengeance.

Some who don't know me have even said I'm un-American or not patriotic because I don't join in to the noise, fracas and the plastering of images and slogans and cliché on the internet. Those who do know me worry about me because they know I am all of those things but they also know it's unusual for me to be so quiet for an entire day. The truth of the matter is, my heart breaks anew every 11th of September. My heart and soul grieve not only for the 2,998 souls lost on that horrible day, but also for the sense of unity and patriotism that we shared in the days and months following.

We were neither Republican nor Democrat, neither black nor white, neither rich nor poor; we were simply American. For a brief time we laid our differences aside and became united. It sort of reminded me of what Paul said in Galatians 3:28, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." There was a unity not seen in this country in many years; several generations, in fact. We came together to grieve for those lost, even though the vast majority of Americans did not know, had never met or even heard the names of those who were slain in New York City, Arlington, Virginia or in Pennsylvania. The pain and loss of the families and friends of the victims became a national pain and loss.

My prayer is that as we post our remembrances and encourage one another to never forget that we not limit ourselves to remembering that we were attacked or seeking vengeance against those who perpetrated those attacks, but we also remember the unity we shared in those dark days and the hope we held for those brief few months afterward that we could, once again, BE the United of the United States of America.