9/12: "The day after the towers fell"

          I was conflicted as to whether to write this post on yesterday or on today.  In honor of the lives lost, I postponed this post till today.  It is no secret that the numbers 911 now have an ambiguous connotation in the minds of most Americans.  Prior to 2001, that number was the first thing that came to our minds when we were in trouble.  Yet on that morning of 9/22/01, our eyes were transfixed on something that seemed like a scene from a movie.  To this day, whenever there’s a fly over view of the city of New York the skyline is visibly different.

 Each annual anniversary of 9/11 our minds are once again bombarded.  All across the news we hear stories about how there’s another huge terrorist attack planned.  With fear and trepidation passengers board airplanes.  Law enforcement officers work overtime to beef up security across the nation.  We sit in front of our televisions and watch different tributes paid to the thousands that died on, and as a result of, that day.  All in all, we will never forget 9/11.

Yet, this post is about 9/12.  The attacks of 9/11 were horrendous, but the acts of 9/12 showed something more powerful than I’d ever witnessed in my “young” life.  For the first time ever I saw Americans come together.  In the words of the late Michael Jackson “it didn’t matter if you were black or white”.  This nation came together as a defiant group of people, and gave a helping hand to each other like never before.  For the first time in my life, I saw what it meant to be “One Nation under God”.  Sadly, with time this camaraderie began to suddenly dissipate as if it never existed.  It would reappear on each 9/11, but would once again disappear shortly thereafter.

Why must we wait for 9/11-like events to occur before we can experience unity like 9/12?  Why does it take a funeral to bring families together?  Why does it take hardship before we are willing to depend on others?  Why is it that we wait for people to hit rock bottom before we are willing to give them a helping hand?  Why can’t every day be like 9/12/2011?

Don’t get me wrong now.  I’m not so naïve to believe that we will experience total tranquility.  I don’t think that we will all sit around the campfire singing Kumbaya.  What I do believe is that we can learn to be more cordial.  We can learn to have different political views, but still treat each other with respect.  We can all be different, but embrace the diversity that makes us different.  My simple hope is that it doesn’t take another 9/11 in order for us to show a 9/12 kind of love for our fellow man.

-Just me