It's impossible to turn on the TV today without seeing pieces about 9/11. Everything is very well put together and emphasizes that our country was not broken that day. In Jon Stewart's words: we grieve, but we do not despair. All day I've been overwhelmed by the unity of our country and the outpouring of love from all 50 states.
But I'm also very angry. I'm horrified and very, very angry. I won't go into the politics of it, I won't go into all of my personal emotions about it, but I will go into one big life-changing realization that came to me this evening.
It's so easy for us to say "God bless America" today. It's easy for us to say "I will never forget" today. And it's easy for us to be patriotic and so grateful for the men and women who ran into danger that morning 10 years ago. But what about the other 364 days? Please, please don't misunderstand... this isn't me saying "I'm better than all of you because I'm a prouder American all year long, and I'm always thankful of our brave men and women in uniforms" - that's not what I'm saying. What I want to say is that I want to be a proud American all year long, and I want to be worthy of living in a nation where men and women are willing to run in and rescue us. Think about that for just a second. Police officers, firefighters, EMTs, nurses, doctors, volunteers...
"While we were all scared out of our minds he ran as fast as he could toward what we were scared of." via
I don't know. This whole post seems very cliche and I've come close to deleting it several times. But it also seems like something that I needed to get out. I'm going to turn off the coverage now, and go on with my life. I just hope that I really do start to realize how lucky I am, how lucky we are, to live in the greatest country in the world.
Just always be nice to each other. Always be grateful for your friends and your family. It's a crazy, scary world we live in... and we don't know when we'll need to rely on a stranger to rescue us next.
God bless.
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