Today marks the 13th Anniversary of the horrific terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001...the date, to borrow the words spoken by Franklin Delano Roosevelt on another tragic day in American history, "which will live in infamy".
The events of 9/11...and the weeks and months that followed...are as unfathomable today as they were then. As they say, "I just can't wrap my brain around it".
The Twin Towers.
The Pentagon.
The charred wreckage in a field in Shanksville.
The evil of it all...the senseless deaths. And there were so very many.
But we must also remember how we rallied, as Americans always do. From the bravery of the First Responders to average citizens who put aside fears for their personal safety to help those in need.
And Americans across the country, even those who lived far from the decimated towers, the Pentagon as it burned, the scarred patch of land in Pennsylvania...did whatever they could.
Blood was donated. Flags were flown. Prayers were sent. We hugged our children, our families, our friends just a little tighter.
And eventually we picked up the pieces and went back to living our lives. But they were not the lives we had lived on September 10th, 2001, the day before the attacks.
We were changed, forever. We simply couldn't "un-see" the events of that day.
As was said by someone a lot smarter than me many years ago, "Those who do not study the past are doomed to repeat it".
Unfortunately, today, we stand once again at a perilous moment in history. There are enemies who would destroy us - and make their intentions clearly known. We as a people - and those in our government - must look back, study, and learn from the past. We must be vigilant. We must be aware. We must do everything in our power to ensure that there is never another date like "9/11" seared into our collective hearts and minds.
God Bless America!
-Dick