2021 marked a milestone anniversary for a day thousands of Americans aren’t likely forget, September 11. Twenty-one years later we still reflect, pause and remember. Today is September 11th, a day in 2001 many of us have horrific memories of. It’s still a day, I hope, no one ever forgets.
This not because we want to remember pain or loss, but rather what the aftermath of this day was. A day that people remembered what being American felt like and discovered a sense of patriotism too often lost.
Not all of us have the memory of that day as others. For some of us this is because we weren’t IN New York and cannot imagine that. The day turned from normal and sunny to dark and frightening in a matter of minutes. Others of us were affected by the aftermath perhaps because there weren’t answers right away or maybe because you lost a parent you didn’t ever meet. No matter the reason or affect, Americans felt the echoes of this day.
I haven’t watched any of the documentaries, but I did hear 20th anniversary interviews with the former mayor of New York, and I heard the recollections of the host of a pop culture show (Poplitics). How she put together the brief segment and her words combined made me tear up. She reminded any viewer how America united after that day in patriotism. Now I sincerely and genuinely ask, where did that go?
I miss that America and the pride her flag represented to everyone.
I miss the America that pledged to never forget and treated first responders with respect.
The answers to people getting back to this is, in some ways, simple. Let go of fear. Turn off the TV. Don’t look at your social media pages. Go outside. LIVE your life! LOVE life. ENJOY life. Remember how good it felt to feel connection through patriotism. Remember how important this is.
⭐ALWAYS REMEMBER SEPTEMBER 11: #NEVERFORGET⭐REFELCTING AND REMEMBERING #SEPTEMBER11. #911 #AMERICA #USA Click To TweetMay today remind us of these good things and in reflecting, may we discover that again. I can, under no circumstances, fathom what it felt like for those IN New York on that day, in the airplane or ANYONE who lost someone. But I do feel the sorrow of what those loses, and tragedies represent. The Living Fully Co. ran by Mallory Ervin posted the following words on their Instagram page.
Jules, this is Brian. Listen, I’m on an airplane that’s been hijacked. If things don’t go well, and it’s not looking good, I just want you to know I absolutely love you. I want you to do good, go have good times. Same to my parents and everybody, and I just totally love you, and I’ll see you when you get there. Bye Babe. I hope I call you.
– Brian Sweeney, September 11th 2001
This post made me cry. It’s the words of a man who knew chances of him ever again seeing the people he loves were slim. He knew his last breaths were immediate. It’s heartbreaking, but also a reminder of living life to its fullest.
May this day, 20-some years ago, remind us of this. Here’s a challenge for us all. May we hold everyone who lost a life close, even if only in a symbolic way, and may we remember that for the lives every solider lost in those twenty years, it was so we, as Americans, could live.
Let’s go live.
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