Today in America, we face many challenges. From the struggling economy to health care, we have many things to talk about. These issues all have solutions from the left and the right sides of the political spectrum, and each of them have great points.
But today, we are not people from a certain political party or belief. Today, we put aside our political differences and we come together as Americans. We recognize that we are in extraordinary times, and we face radicals that threaten the American way of life.
It was on Sept. 11, 2001, that some of these radicals attacked America. We saw a lot of horrible things that day, but we also got to see some of our bravest people do great things.
So today we remember. We remember people like Lt. John R. Fischer of the New York City Fire Department, who ran into a burning tower to save the lives of others because it was the right thing to do.
“John Fischer was one of the nicest people I have ever met. He coached my son for five years in soccer and basketball. John always understood that the game was just a game, and he tried to encourage each player to do their best and play every position. He never yelled at his players. John was always a gentleman on the court, setting a good example for other coaches in how to conduct oneself at a youth sporting event. John is my hero. I love him with my heart and soul,” one of Fischer’s friends said.
We remember people like Christine Anne Snyder on United Airlines Flight 93, the plane that was hijacked and crashed in Pennsylvania. Snyder called her loved ones to say one last “I love you,” and then without hesitation went and confronted the danger.
“I remember Christine, even then, always thinking of others before herself,” a friend of hers said.
One of history’s most remembered presidents, Abraham Lincoln, said words that we can apply today, “We here highly resolve that the dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.”
But today is not just about remembering the lost. It is also about the Americans we became on Sept. 12. The 9/12 Project helped solidify this by stating, “The day after America was attacked, we were not obsessed with red states, blue states or political parties. We were united as Americans, standing together to protect the greatest nation ever created. That same feeling — that commitment to country — is what we are hoping to foster with this idea. We want to get everyone thinking like it is Sept. 12, 2001 again.”
On Sept. 12, we united for a new birth of freedom. We did not wallow in fear of what could come. We united to protect liberty. We became Americans.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
