Take Some Time to Remember 9–11–2001 with This Collection of Thoughts and Music.
Thank you to those who enter into this full experience. of 9–11–2001 remembrance with me.
9–11 was many things, but it did not fit my definition of a war between nations or entities. “War” was a useful rallying cry, I suppose, but that was the extent of its usefulness.
9/11 — I remember well. It touches a place of sadness. It also touches a place of admiration and appreciation for the humanity that was so much stronger than the inhumanity and the courage, heroism, and sacrifice that have been an example to our generation.
It caused us to pray for peace and justice and a world where we demonstrate God’s love to each other and receive love, even across the great divides of strong convictions.
May God bless our country during these days of division and ideological sparring. If we could but join hands for the things that are not in dispute, we could find the time for our disputes, but always come together again as fellow citizens who esteem each other.
On 9/11/2001, over 40 nations lost citizens.
Among these, Australia lost 11, Bangladesh, 6 Canada, 24, Colombia, 17, Germany, 11,Jamaica, 16, Mexico, 16, Philippines, 16, South Korea 28, and United Kingdom, 66.
Some were secular in religious persuasion; some were Christian, some Jewish, some Muslim, and some other.
The perpetrators were criminals who distorted their own religious teachings for their own fanatical and political ends. They represented no legitimate government and no official religion.
I Never Liked Calling It a War
To call it war legitimizes what they did.
It was a crime inspired by irrational hate. Many heroes rose to the occasion and went up the stairs to save as the masses (many of whom were also heroic) sought to go down to safety.
These we honor and remember.
They said nothing would ever be the same. Not true. Things settle down. We mustn’t forget what happened this day, but it does not define us. It refines us.
Some of our responses have been noble, pragmatic, wise, necessary, and compassionate. Others have been driven by fear, irrationality, and unbridled anger. We cannot live in fear, hate, suspicion, and anger. Nor can we cling to grief. Ours is to live and love.
We Have Not Forgotten
We have not forgotten what happened on September 11 in our recent past.
I remember where I was when the first hint of news came across the wave via NPR. I remember my thoughts.’
I remember how we came together and put our differences aside. As Randy Sparks wrote in a song, “On September the 11th, we became just Americans.”
I remember how some folks said that nothing would ever be the same again … but they are in most ways except the ways that time and progress change everything.
Then, we started using the tragedy to move from being a people who valued freedom above everything else to being a people who would surrender freedom for safety and security.
And we started a couple of wars, at least one clearly in response to a very real threat of terrorism in the world.
And we started rethinking the meaning of our Constitution — not that we shouldn’t from time to time. We just need to hold on to what is true and just and good.
And we started bickering again.
Yet, we have not forgotten.
We are not exactly sure what the lessons were, but we learned what it meant to share a common heartbeat and a common heartbreak.
We remember what it was like to deeply care about one another.
We remember what it was like, for a moment, to respect our leaders and give them a great deal of leeway and trust along with much prayer.
What stands out for me in my memory is a heightened value for the heroes among us, in and out of uniform who are willing to lay down their lives for others. Many of these are still placing themselves in daily harm’s way.
We flew flags.
We sought the comfort of God and of one another.
We sang together, mourned together, and worked together.
We can remember, but we cannot be defined by tragedy. Nor can we live in a perpetual state of emergency.
The world is dangerous. Horrible things could happen. We could all die — but that is not the most important thing.
The most important thing is whether or not we will choose to live, and to live as free people until we die. Will we love each other? Will we pray when we are not in crisis? We will show each other respect? Will we be “just Americans” and not blue or red or whatever that is and whatever that means?
If we will remember, then we can commit to being our best as Americans and working together for common good.
For now, let us pause to remember.
Our National Folk Song
We may have national anthem, but this is our national folk song.
Just as we have various points of commonality here in our communities, greetings, common interests, and shared commitments, having walked the streets of our cities, so we were all in one moment on one fateful day. And we all had one thing in common: we were a part of one nation, although many nations lost their sons and daughters as well.
We had a common resolve to grieve together and help one another.
We can be divided on many things, but our true greatness comes in finding our common pains, joys, and loves — and then building on those.
Greetings on this day of remembering.
Where were you when you heard?
I was on Interstate 5, just past the National Cemetary in Gustine, CA.., traveling from Fresno to the Bay Area, listening to NPR News as the word broke.
Reflecting Through the Years
Years later…. I was thinking of whether or not to say something about 911 and maybe this is saying something about 911. There are always things we do not want to forget. There are always people that we always want to remember and honor. There are always lessons from the past that we want to build upon. There is nothing in our past that is tragic that we want to define or confine us. 911 was one of our collective travesties and tragedies and it brought to light the best of those folks who united across all sorts of lines to make a positive difference in the darkness.
Tragedies and travesties continue around the world. Our past is cluttered with them. We have perpetrated some as a people. Our ancestors from most every culture have done so, likewise.
We do not live in shame or regret. But we do not forget our shame or regret. We find redemption, reconciliation, and resolve to be better people individually and collectively by the grace of God.
We look for areas where we, in agreement, can stand together and work together.
We are human. We are frail. My theology teaches that we a “mark-missers (sinners in translation).” But we are also beloved and called.
Grace, mercy, and peace are God’s gifts to us in the gaps that our resolve cannot fill. As a follower of Jesus, I am always looking through the lenses of God’s desire for the redemption of everyone and everything, the call to a possibility and necessity of mind/life change (repentance) as good news, and the message of the rule of God (the Kingdom) as always present and imminent in every situation.
That is my bias and leaning and it opens doors to vast possibilities of love in the presence of hate, peace in days of war, hope in times of despair, light in darkness, possibilities at the place of dead-ends, handshakes and hugs when the gloves are off, and salt on the unseasoned mundanity of humanity.
911 was a day and is an emergency number. We do not live in a world dominated and ruled by emergency, but possibility.
Let us live!
We Were Reminded to Love People.
We are not promised tomorrow.
We may not have another opportunity to show or express our love.
Songs Were Sung
We sang because music goes deep and mines the emotions of our souls, gives voice to our hopes as well as our sorrows, and teaches us to find meaning in the mud of life.
I play this every year on September 11 to remind myself what real patriotism is — love for one’s countrymen who walk varied paths from varied backgrounds and places of origin.
By the way, Randy Sparks died last year.
After a respectable pause, Paul Simon brought Saturday Night Live back to the airwaves with this song. This is not that performance, but another.
Later, he sang this as a tribute to the many heroes of 9–11.
For many of us, it was our faith that brought us through the dark days.
Let Us Not Forget to Be Grateful as We Remember
Thank you for the joy of living.
And for the joy and love of giving.
Thank you for mercy and forgiving.We give you thanks.
Thank you for the peace to which we aspire
And for the blessings daily, we acquire.
Thank you for each hope of that which we desire.We give you thanks.
Thank you for friends who gather around us,
For all the beauty that surrounds us
And for the gifts that abound to us.We give you thanks.
Make us grateful for each wilting flower,
Thankful for each day and hour,
For all that is sweet and all that is sour.We give you thanks.
May we choose to view the glass
Half full as all life’s moments pass.
We behold you as through a glassWe give you thanks.
And may we live amid the pace,
In every time and every place,
Asd a people full of grace.We give you thanks.
Finally, I believe that while tragedy can bring out the worst in people, it can also bring out the best. Times of great crisis reveal our true colors.
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