Remembering 9/11 and 9/12

Do you remember where you were on September 11, 2001? Some events stick in our minds, as though that moment is just frozen in time. Some of those moments for me include: the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan, the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger, the night the Persian Gulf War started, and the day my wife told me she was pregnant with our first child. Those moments are all as vivid in my mind today, as they were the day they occurred.

Another such day is September 11, 2001. I was working at Berean Baptist Church in West Palm Beach, FL at the time. I remember it was a beautiful, sunny, South Florida day. I had just returned to my office after visiting in the school office. Only a few minutes after returning to my office, I remember our Preschool Director, MaryAnn B., running into the church office hallway and shouting a plane just hit the World Trade Center. People gathered near televisions to see what was happening. I gathered with others in the courtyard area of our Preschool to watch the scene unfold. Before long, the second plane and later the third.

The news reports stirred a panic in the hearts of those on our campus and there was a heightened security alert as parents started showing up to sign their students out from school. Parents just wanted to embrace their children and the magnitude of the event brought families and our country close.

Those who are 23+ years old probably have some recollection of the events of 9/11. For those who are younger, it is a part of history that has been skewed by those who rewrite history with their slant toward political correctness, inclusivity and tolerance. The fact is that America was attacked! We did not go looking for war; the Islamic Extremists brought it to us.

That attack brought Americans together! On 9/12, stores ran out of American flags as people installed them on their houses and attached them to their cars. People were Americans first, before they were upper or lower class; Jewish or Christian; Democrat or Republican; liberal or conservative. People did not care about the color of your skin, whether you had a flag on your T-shirt, or if you ate at Chick-fil-A or shopped at Hobby Lobby. Americans simply cared about one another. People stood tall, shouted the Pledge of Allegiance and sang the National Anthem at the top of their lungs. You did not see ANY American kneeling during the National Anthem and the outcome probably would not have been good if they did. Patriotism was on display as we were united and ready to take-on anyone who would dare attack our nation!

Sadly, it seems as though many have forgotten the tragedy of that day. Today we argue over long TSA lines, securing our borders and homegrown terrorists now attack fellow Americans simply for having differing opinions. Politicians show more zeal for climate change and endangered species than they do for the safety of American citizens. Inexperienced Congressional rookies want to change the Constitution and usher in Socialism. First responders who were then hailed as heroes are now disrespected and doused with water. We built a beautiful tower on Ground Zero to remember the husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters, grandparents among the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives on September 11, 2001; but wouldn’t unity, peace and patriotism be a better tribute to those who died in the attacks?

Romans 12:18 tells us “…as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” Maybe today, September 11, 2019 is a good day to hit the reset button and start being instruments of peace and patriotism. Maybe today is the day we pause to thank God for the privilege of living in the land of the free and home of the brave. Maybe today is the day we realize that America is the greatest nation in the world, as proven by the number of people trying to get here. Maybe today, is the day we reflect on those who died on 9/11, we remember the spirit of Patriotism seen on 9/12, and realize the problem with forgetting the facts of that day.