[NFBofSC] 911 message"

[Charles Black]

On this day, we remember 9/11. Where were you on that infamous day?
Where are you now? Is the feeling of patriotism in you? Let us reflect
and regurgitate on these questions together. Let us take lessons from
the past and allow them to guide our future.

On 9/11, I was in college, trying to better my life and improve my
position in American society. I was in the computer lab, doing
homework. Then, the unthinkable happened, on tv, I saw one of the twin
towers fall. I stood there in amazement. Who would dare attack our
country?

It did not even occur to me that it would be another nation state.
Then, another tower fell before my eyes. Anger flared up in me, a
feeling of helpful helplessness was a thought in my mind. Whoever had
done this had to pay, was all I could think. As a nation, we heard who
had done this and vowed that their cost would be worse than our
sacrifice. Our military was mobilized with one thought, they must pay.
In that time period, we all had one mind set, we all had one goal,
take out those who dared to attack us just because we were different.

Today, our nation is so divided. Each person is out for their selves.
Each person has their own goals. When I reflect on what would happen
today if such a traumatic event occurred, I can see each person having
their own ideas about how we would react as a nation. Half would want
to attack the perpetrators while the other half would be saying that
we deserved the transgression. Some would be saying that the glass was
half full while others would be saying it was half empty. There are
things that we can agree on while there are things we will never agree
on. Why do we not go silently into the night and understand that there
are things that we will disagree on, but we can live together.

Let us take this day and decide to live together while being
different. Let us take our similarities in direction and walk
together. Events of the past tell us that there are people ready to
destroy our way of life. Let us not help them by destroying it for
them. Like the gentleman on that flight said from Pennsylvania 19
years ago when the terrorists high jacked their plain, “let’s roll”
and get behind our government.


-- 
Charles E. Black, MS.
charleseblack126 at gmail.com