Today, as I sit down and prepare to write in my blog, my mind is overflowing with many thoughts.  Our world changed for the worse on 9/11 nineteen years ago, but on 9/12 our world experienced a new ray of hope and unity shone in the background.  Oh, that we can look back and see the damage done, but also note some bright spots that shone through the disaster.

            This is our history, but as it normally does, lessons are found during our most tragic times.  9/11 is not an exception, but rather a great example of how we can pull together for the common good of all involved.

            The night before was normal to the human eye.  No one foresaw what possibly laid ahead for us the next day.  Yet there it was a low hanging cloud over our heads and ready to rain down upon us.  People followed their usual routine and went about their day as they normally did.

            That day nineteen Islamic extremists hijacked four planes and set their plans into motion.  Two of the planes flew into the Twin Towers in New York at approximately 8:45 am and the second plane hit the other tower approximately eighteen minutes later.  It was not long after the planes hit their target that both towers collapsed.  The third plane hit the Pentagon at approximately 9:45 am, and the last plane crashed in Pennsylvania after it was hijacked and then overthrown by the passengers happening around 10:15am.  Roughly three thousand people were killed because of these attacks and many others were seriously injured.  This was the deadliest attack on U.S. soil.

            Do you remember where you were when all of this happened?  I had slept in that morning and as I was getting ready for work, I turned on the television.  I could not believe my eyes.  It was unbelievable.  I watched because I wanted to find out what happened, and I could not turn away. I saw the towers fall and my heart was in my throat.  I was thinking of all the lives that tried to get out but could not.  Some even jumped to their death.  Others sacrificed their life to assist those who were incapable of getting out on their own. 

            Officers and the Port Authority were on the scene within minutes and our firefighters all responded as quickly as they could.  The objective was to do a search and rescue to save as many as possible to do a search for remains.  Everyone wanted to get involved, we had bystanders, the Mayor Rudy Giuliani, local service men (some Marines rescued people from Ground Zero) and the first responders aforementioned sifted through the rubble during the search looking for loved ones, answers or identification as to who these victims were.  Many of these first responders would lose their life by doing so.  There was debris (roughly 1.8 billion tons) everywhere.  People were displaced, scattered and unable to easily contact their loved ones to let them know they were alive.  All appeared to either be lost or falling apart, but just beyond this tragedy hope arose.  Our current view blocked our focus, but it was there, nonetheless.

            Later that night our President Bush made the announcement addressing the terrorist attacks.  He declared a war on terror and targeted the Al Qaeda terrorists (specifically the leader Osama Bin Laden).  We had a plan to recover, to capture and to move forward.

            Out of tragedy our best always tends to shine through.  People helped one another.  Police and firefighters from all over the country volunteered to come and search for loved ones.  Blood banks were started, and blood was donated.  We stood by each other, lifting one another up and offering to help any way we could.  Pictures were posted of those missing or lost in hopes that all could be identified.  The Department of Homeland Security was created to prevent future incidents from occurring.  Tributes were made in honor of all those lost.  We knew the towers were ground zero and a memorial was made there to represent those who died that day.  We hold remembrance ceremonies to honor the lost, to process the grief, to cherish those that are still with us, and to show a united front of what our country means to us.  We cannot understand the immeasurable pain and grief of such a great loss of life, and we must not forget the sacrifice many made nor how we rallied together as a country to get through this.  This is embedded in our memories forever.  Prayerfully, this lesson not only impacted us, but will not be repeated.

            Yes, evil was determined to conquer that day, but it was God who gave us the strength to bear the load and to step up and help one another out.  We did not let our greatest tragedy or fear tear us down, but we allowed it to bring us closer together.  These are just a few of the bright spots to focus on during our darkest hour.

In summary, America has always been a very blessed nation.  It has stood strong over time and I pray that it continues to do so no matter the threat.  It is the land of opportunity for all that are here and all that are seeking a better life.  Yes, like all nations we have our flaws, but the good outweighs the bad.

            During a time of crisis, we chose to stick together and to fight whomever or whatever the foe was that was attacking us.  We chose to fight for our country and the people within our country. We must continue to do this whether our foe is domestic or foreign.  These men and women who gave their life for this country shall not have died in vain.  We need to remember who we are, what we stand for and what we stand against.  We must stand united and not let anything or anyone tear us down or break us apart.  Division at any time is never the answer.  Neither side can withstand division.  One will succeed and one will fail. 

            We need to hear one another out, reason and to seek a solution; then act on that solution.  Remember who we are, why the framers of the constitution fought so hard to preserve our unity, our freedoms, our rights, and what the flag represents for our country and our beliefs.  Learn from our history, then raise our flag high and focus on the pledge we all learned as little kids.  Remember what it meant then and what it represents now.  I will end on that note and restate our pledge of allegiance.

             “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

            Instead of focusing on do you remember, meditate instead on why we must never forget.  We did get through this rough patch and we can again if we learned the lesson we were taught. No amount of gratitude can be enough to thank those for their selfless act.  We are forever indebted. Are you willing to take a stand for your country?  God bless our land, our people, and our country!