Eleven years ago today, this nation experienced a catastrophe so horrific that most people would never have conceived that it could happen. We were thrown in to such a state of shock, turmoil, panic and sorrow that there is not a single person that was not impacted by those attacks. But rather than lashing out in anger and hatred, most people responded with such an overwhelming compassion and love for one another that nothing else mattered. Rich, poor, white, black, Latino, straight, gay, it didn’t matter. We were all more concerned with caring and loving one another as if we were all one family. I think this may have been the closest we’ve ever come to showing the love of God in the history of a nation that was founded on a desire to love God freely and deeply. And not too long after, the “Never forget 9-11-01” bumper sticker was plastered on just about every surface we could find. Our hearts were changed forever.
Or so we told ourselves. Fast forward eleven years later, and if you were to look at the newspaper today, the only thing you would see is “Romney attacks Obama”, “Obama slams Romney”, “Citizens are sick of bailing out the poor, the government, the military, the corporations” And everyone is screaming at one another “YOU MUST ACCEPT EVERY ASPECT OF MY LIFE NO MATTER WHAT!” and “YOU ARE NO GOOD AND IT’S YOUR FAULT THIS COUNTRY IS SO SCREWED UP!” We are all too consumed with who has their hands in our pockets and obsessed with holding onto “our” money as tightly as we can; money that was in someone else’s pocket before it got to ours. We are filled with more hatred and intolerance now than ever before. We feel the need to criticize everything we don’t agree with on Facebook, Twitter and on the bumpers of our cars. In fact, the only things we support together are sports teams that have absolutely no impact on the welfare of our society whatsoever.
But if you really want to remember and honor, what happened eleven years ago, remember those who are in pain, sick, hungry, lost, unloved, hopeless. Remember that we once needed someone else for help, and that we still do. Remember that in long run, whoever is sitting in the White House is not going to fix everything. They can’t, we can’t, but God can with us and through us. Stop cursing someone’s name, but rather pray for them. Stop blaming someone for what’s wrong, but instead ask, “How can I help?” Stop spending so much time showing people that they’re wrong, but instead show them that they are loved. That is a memory worth keeping.
