Looking in the rear view to that fateful day, September 11, 2001.
It is a day I know I will always remember. Beyond the tragedy,
devastation, the pain and the unthinkable loss we suffered as a nation,
I remember feeling a profound spirit of unity born out of our connection
as citizens of this great nation. On 9/11, we were visibly connected
by our collective loss. From the homeless man on the street to the CEO of great
corporations, there was a shared understanding, spoken and unspoken,
that comes with the realization that it could have been anyone. It could have been
your son, your daughter, husband or wife, mother or father; who perished.
At that moment in time, there were no differences between us.
No matter who we were individually, collectively, we were simply
one nation suffering our loss together.
Through the years that have passed, we seem to be slipping further away from
that day. If we learn nothing else, we should learn that our differences are simply that,
differences. It is those differences that make us interestingly and excitingly new. We have to accept one another each and every day, not just in the face of tragedy. There has to be a permanent bond between us as countrymen. It is that common bond that got us through the days following 9/11.
Being different should be an asset. It should never ever become a liability. When we start
encouraging separation, on any level, we are spitting in the face of those who risked their lives to make this country what it is today. Today, let us remember and consider the price
we pay for freedom, peace and democracy. In so doing, maybe we can rediscover what it really means to call America our home.
copyright 2016 Patricia Newman-Harris
In a world where almost everything has a price,
one thing is absolutely free. That thing, my friends, is love.
If you throw it out, it not only come back to you, it
will bless you in ways you never knew before.