Wednesday, September 11, 2013

The Statue of Liberty - You Can't Beat That

Yes, this is another September 11th post, probably one of hundreds you will see today. I'm not going to tell you the story of where I was when I heard the news, or what phone calls I made, or what the faces of the people around me looked like. Everyone has their own version of that story and I think it is personal and tragic and hopeful, all at the same time.

What I do want to do is share with you one of my memories from the following weeks after the attacks. As a college student in 2001, Jon Stewart was the voice of the news for me, as I'm sure he was (and still is) to many of you. And he didn't come back to the airwaves quickly, he took time to get it together and prepare himself and to be respectful to the fact that maybe we just weren't ready to laugh yet.

And on September 20, 2001, 9 days after the towers fell, he came back to us. Here's what he had to say.


12 years later and I can remember so clearly that feeling of togetherness, united-ness, help each other-ness, that pervaded the nation in the days and weeks and months after the attacks. And then, it was gone. Business as usual. Every man for himself.

I'm not on a soapbox or a high horse about this, because I am guilty of what I speak. But maybe if everyone took the anniversary of that day and used it as an annual reminder to be a little nicer to the person standing next to us, to take a minute and be thankful for just being here, maybe then we could get back to that place we were 12 years ago and really unite as a nation. Maybe.

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