Yes, I’m still remembering. Here’s my 9/11 story, and how the events of that day became motivation for me to start a family.
I post this story again as inspiration that we can go on in the face of fear. I post it as a reminder of what desperation and hate can drive people to do. I post it also as a plea that we treat such people as individuals, and not view all others who may bear similar characteristics of nationality, ethnicity, race, or religion in the same light. I post it because our current president makes me feel less safe than I have since September 11, 2001. We must engage constructively with the rest of the world for the betterment of us all, not try to get the better of it at all costs. We need to make sure that our policies at home and abroad do not have the effect of turning more people against us.
Even as we look back to honor those killed on 9/11, their families, friends, and those who worked to rescue them, let us recommit to working now and in the future against the ills that turn people to terrorism, including hatred, socioeconomic inequality, and racial and ethnic injustice.