"The attacks of September 11th were intended to break our spirit. Instead we have emerged stronger and more unified. We feel renewed devotion to the principles of political, economic, and religious freedom, the rule of law and respect for human life. We are more determined than ever to live our lives in freedom." -Rudolph Giuliani, former Mayor of NYC
"Even the smallest act of service, the simplest act of kindness, is a way to honor those we lost, a way to reclaim that spirit of unity that followed 9/11." -President Barack Obama
"For me and my family personally, September 11 was a reminder that life is fleeting, impermanent, and uncertain. Therefore, we must make use of every moment and nurture it with affection, tenderness, beauty, creativity, and laughter." -Deepak Chopra
One Love.
12 comments:
Hopefully, the greatest tribute that we can pay to those victims of that tragedy is through respect for all persons, regardless of who they may be. We are all different. Our humanity is what makes us one.
"For me and my family personally, September 11 was a reminder that life is fleeting, impermanent, and uncertain. Therefore, we must make use of every moment and nurture it with affection, tenderness, beauty, creativity, and laughter." -Deepak Chopra
As a society, can we please live this out and not just read it?
Love and prayer can truly heal many. I think we often forget that one small act of kindness can do wonders and not just on a significant day like today.
Life is fleeting and I for one, want to be apart of that one small act.
Love for a great day and much love to your family, friendships and blog followers.
In HIS name, we are ONE!
fsb
We can never forget the pain and loss of that day, but we can be a beacon of hope and light, with our strength, courage and compassion, and reach out to the world and make that difference.
Thanks for the inspiration Lin.....
It seems like it really wasn't that long ago, but it's actually been eleven long years hasn't it?!?
It's one time that I believe Americans came closer together for like ten minutes. But I suppose that's how most people react to adversity.
On September 11th 2001 I lived in Bloomfield, New Jersey. I went to work and when the first plane hit The Trade Center I was standing in one of our IT offices arguing with one of their managers over whether the first plane hit the WTC intentionally or not. When I told him it was deliberate, he told me I was paranoid. We were still standing there arguing when the second plane hit. The guy I was arguing with was a major in the US Army Reserves and a year later he was stationed at Guantanamo Bay.
I was angry that day, like many people. I lived close enough to New York City to watch WTC burn in the distance for weeks. That just wasn't a good time for most of us. I remember this guy that reported to me at the time was Pakastani and when the towers fell he started talking that "chickens coming home to roost" nonsense and I had to physically restrain to other representatives from beating his ass that day. I also heard some fairly racists statements made by a lot of people towards Arabs that day and the days that followed.
The only positive thing that came out of it for me was how people of color were suddenly "recognized" as Americans by a large segment of society that never acknowledged us as Americans before. Of course, that love affair only lasted a couple of months.
A couple of months later I actually flew down to Florida and when I sat in my seat, I noticed a few of the men making eye contact with me. When before I'm sure they wouldn't have even looked around a plane. I guess they were trying to figure out who was gonna help them stop the terrorists....if there were some.
I can't believe it's been eleven years now.
@ Roger:
Truer words I can not possibly conjure. In some ways, perhaps the after effects of 9/11 are still being felt and experienced. Much like a devastatating earthquake, the reverberations come as societal aftershocks. I believe that there has been a shift in our collective conscience, we have become more spiritually aware (generally speaking) and gradually we have evolved to become more tolerant of others who may be seen as different from ourselves... but we've still a hella long road to go.
One.
@fsb:
Your statement is exactly correct.
We can, should, must & we have to extend ourselves to each other as a community... and not only during the course of one, single designated day. It has to become a movement, a mission, a mindset, and a natural part of our DAILY living if we are ever to witness the change we yearn to see in the world. We can't just think about it, or talk about it... We have to BE about it!
One.
@ Wynn:
I strongly believe in what President Obama said, and that, as a community, we have to reach out to other, and provide a service, no matter how small, to our fellow citizens. This is one of the reasons why each Wednesday evening, I volunteer in a local soup kitchen. It actually does the spirit a world of good. And it pays you back in smiles and in the sense of hope and smiple gratitude.
One.
@ Reggie:
That really was a strange & yet revealing time in this country, & maybe even the world. I can recall that during the height & drama of the actual attacks I was really, deeply AFRAID for the first time since I was a child. It seemed that by the third attack, no one was safe, & not even the freakin' Pentagon was secure. I wondered how the day would end, & whether or not I, my family or anyone I knew & cared for would still be alive... or if this were in fact the end of the world. Never thought something so severe, or tragic would happen on these shores in our lifetime.
I also gained a whole new respect for firemen, policemen, and emergency workers. What those people do is awe-inspiring. It blows my mind that while sensible people will flee from a fiery building, THEY run into it!
For some reason, more people smiled or nodded at me in passing, and spoke, even when we weren't acquainted. I can recall thinking that it shouldn't take an event of this magnitude to bring people together, & yet I also knew that it probably wouldn't last. Human nature.
People were kinder to each other, weren't they?
But that kindness was also mixed with a raging sense of paranoia and blatant xenophobia. Some clung tighter to family, friends, their beliefs and their religion, while at the same time, they became even more distrustful/suspicious of foreigners of a darker hue.
I'm ashamed to say, I avoided going into NYC for at least six months after the attacks. The media didn't help. I just didn't trust the air quality or that some crazy zealot wouldn't attempt to make another deadly statement and endanger the lives of countless. Even the trains & subways gave me the willies. Strange days, indeed.
In some ways that matter, we are a safer, more secure country than we were prior to 9/11. But we paid such a terrible price, & we continue to it up to this very day.
Thanks for your thoughts on the subject.
One.
I don't think that I went anywhere that year so I maybe wrong, but I had the impression that everyone, everywhere around the world, except for the idiots who danced in the streets, grieved. If it could happen in the most powerful country in the world then it could happen anywhere. If the lives of not just Americans but the lives of citizens of so many other countries could be wiped off the face of the earth that easily then who no one would be safe. It was a time when the entire world came together as one and said this will not stand.
I think a forgotten tragedy of that period was that sense of unity and purpose didn't last and that in reality we still fight among ourselves and with others that we find different. We are today really no safer then we were on September 10th and just another day closer to the next event.
@ Curious:
You're correct. Grief, an overwhelming sense of it, had become another citizen in NYC. For quite some time Grief seemed to be the King of New York. It was also mixed wih a feeling of profound disbelief. It lasted quite a while before life even began to make sense again.
However, I actually feel we are SAFER (note: not the same as "safe") because as a society we are far more vigilant than we were at anytime prior, at least as everyday people and civilians not actively engaged in war.
When you consider the many foiled attempts at terrorism made against this country, more specifically, in NYC, AFTER 9/11, it reflects a new era in homeland security and the measures that have been made to never again withstand a supreme tragedy of such seismic proportions.
Remember the Time Square bomber & his attempt to set it off right there in the "crosswalk of the world?" That would have been another far-reaching disaster, had it not been for this new policy adopted by everyday citizens of "if you see something, say something." Recall the "shoe-bomber" who didn't succeed in blowing a crowded passenger plane during the holidays, several years ago? Again, this was avoided because average, everyday people are more vigilant than ever before.
There have been countless attempts that have not succeeded, and many more than we as a society aren't made privy to because of the increased number operatives and insiders within certain terrorist cells pre-warning federal and state officials of activities and strikes directed against the US.
Prior to 9/11, such claims, concerns and warnings would not always have taken seriously or prompted increased security... but instead downplayed, if not outright dismissed.
And let's not forget that on almost every street, almost everywhere in this country there are now a plethora of security cameras where few crimes go unseen, unrecorded, and even fewer suspicious activities can go completely ignored. Sometimes this new wave of increased security feels like an invasion of our privacy and our personal freedom. But the trade-off is that, ultimately, we should be made to feel somewhat "safer."
Personally, I feel we face far more danger of those so-called 'home-grown terrorists' and the madnesses of deranged lone gunmen who swoop in unexpectedly and wreck havoc upon innocent citizens. That is something that no one can rightfully predict.
One.
never EVER forget.
@ gayte-keeper:
That would be IMPOSSIBLE, yo!
One.
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