We Remember

Today is Sept. 11.

On that Tuesday morning 18 years ago, the world changed. And I remember those moments and the days and weeks that followed so clearly. The uncertainty. The sense of community. The fear. The devastation. The utter disbelief. The coming together of a nation.

When I see video and photos from those days—the ruined buildings, the stunned faces of people in New York and in Nashville, then-President Bush with the firefighters and rescuers at Ground Zero—I still tear up. I remember, and I can’t forget.

But I work on a college campus where most of the traditional undergraduates have no memories of that day. A few were probably tiny babies; many hadn’t even been born yet. To them, 9/11 is a defining moment in American history they learned about in class. It’s a moment in history, not a reality that changed everything.

So many things have changed since that day. But my hope is as we turn our faces toward the 20th and 25th and someday, the 50th anniversary, we choose to remember. Not the fear and destruction or nurture hatred in our hearts—but that while evil may exist, it doesn’t get the final word.

Previous Sept. 11 posts:

• Sept. 11, 2011 • Sept. 11, 2010 • Sept. 11, 2009 • Sept. 11, 2006

#september11 #weremember