This Sunday is September 11th, the fifteenth anniversary of that terrible day. 9/11 is now a national day of reflection, a day for our nation to pause to celebrate the heroism of our First Responders. Every one of our own firefighters, EMTs, police officers and sheriff’s deputies go to work every day ready to act just as selflessly as those remarkable firefighters did when they rushed into the collapsing buildings at the World Trade Center fifteen years ago. My own memorial on 9/11 also includes the many First Friends we all have — the friends and neighbors who immediately jump into action when someone, anyone in our community is in need.
We’re blessed in America with a spirit of taking care of each other, of respecting each other. “We’re all in this together” is still the instant American reaction to crisis.
“Never again,” is another American touchstone. To honor those lost in a tragedy, we Americans learn the lesson, plan the prevention, and act.
In the fifteen years since the World Trade Center attacks, we’ve seen too many more acts of homicide/suicide violence, most of them entirely homegrown. With school just restarted this is a good time to ask ourselves if we’re doing everything we can. I believe our efforts at prevention should center on reducing the risks to our children and our schools. Out doorbelling yesterday, I talked with one of our local school counselors. Already in the first week of school it was clear, she said, that many of our high school students are stressed out. Some are homeless. Many are stuffed into overcrowded classrooms. We need to do better.
So in addition to remembering the First Responders and the victims of the World Trade Center fifteen years ago, part of my personal 9/11 Memorial tomorrow will be to redouble my insistence that we honor our commitment to Never Again by ensuring that our kids are in physically safe, emotionally healthy, fully funded schools embedded in a fully supportive community.
Your thoughts? We all remember where we were when we heard the awful news about the planes flying into the World Trade Center. What are your thoughts fifteen years on?
Larry Seaquist
