A day we must remember
Today, Sept. 11, marks an anniversary many wish we had never seen and certainly not one we wish to celebrate. However, it is one that we must remember, especially as our daily lives are filled with so many stories of killings. Fourteen years ago, terrorists attacked our homeland in a devastating way that took the lives of thousands.
Today, we face internal attack by those who in some way see our police officers as the enemy. There are weekly reports of officers being shot, ambushed, killed-all in the name of “anti-police.”
If not for our police officers, who would maintain any semblance of order? If not for those officers in 2001 who gave their lives to save others, where would those people be?
Individuals in our country need to realize that police are not the enemy. Members of different races are not the enemy. All lives matter-not just black lives or white lives. If some measure is not soon taken to remedy the growing unrest inside our own borders, terrorists from abroad will not have to contemplate another attack on our shores. We will take care of destroying ourselves and save them the trouble.
Sept. 11, 2001 dawned sunny with clear blue skies promising just a touch more of summer. Sitting at my office in Charles Town at that time, all of our staff gathered around the TV to watch in between getting our paper ready for publication. Like so many, we were shocked, saddened, amazed at what we saw. I know we all placed calls to loved ones to make sure they were okay. We were thankful we knew no one who may have been in harm’s way that day.
But in the not knowing, we still grieved for those who lost, for those who did not know answers, for a
Now 12 years later, even though we gather together at ceremonies to remember, do we really? In the time span since this country was attacked, we have seen more division and hatred in this country than we have in many, many years. We have seen politics tear us apart and racial tensions brought back to the forefront in our history. We have seen a lack of acceptance of responsibility on the part of our citizenry and a disregard for what is right and wrong.
We need to dig deep and find the feelings of unity and pride in our nation and in our communities that rose to the occasion when dealing with such a devastating act of terror. We need to have the love of country, love of neighbor, and take our country back from external and internal destruction alike.