We mourn for those we never knew. We mourn for the survivors, now old and older.
We mourn for the heroes.
We mourn for our country. For lost liberty. For lost security. For lost peace.
We mourn this day.
Every day.
We may not think about 9/11 every day. But every day we glimpse the hope and chaos of that day.
Chaos survives in road rage. It survives in riots. It survives in anger directed at children. It survives in uncontrolled human nature.
Hope survives in community cleanup efforts. It survives in fire response teams. It survives when listening to people you disagree with. It survives in loving strangers.
We can be divided in our differences or united in common decency. It’s our collective choice.
There is common ground. It’s up to us—each of us individually—to find it and welcome others to it. It’s up to us to acknowledge that it may not be where we now stand. That it’s ok to change your mind.
Nineteen years ago we came together as a nation. There is no reason we can’t do it again.
