When Did America Develop 9/11 Amnesia?

As hard as it is to believe, our grandchildren, or in some instances our great-grandchildren will be asking what happened to America.

In fact, if those of us that personally witnessed it had not seen it or experienced it ourselves, we would not believe it had ever happened based on the climate of our country. Aside from the documentary reminders each year, the ground zero monuments and an occasional social media post, one could never tell that one day twenty years ago, America collectively called 9-1-1.

Our demeanor in America today bears no indication that not so long ago, nineteen men armed with only box cutters and hatred hijacked four US Airliners, which resulted in the loss of over 3,000 American lives. However, from watching local state or even national news broadcasts, it is painfully clear that much of America has 911
Amnesia.

In the weeks following the attack that destroyed the World Trade Centers and nearly leveled the Pentagon, much of America seemed to recognize what was almost lost. Much like the demeanor one has in realizing a spouse has
survived a terminal illness, Americans had seemed to have fallen in love with America all over again. For several months, churches were full each Sunday, and America was overflowing with American Flags, t-shirts, and celebratory events.

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Yet, just as suddenly as it had begun, this era of patriotic enlightenment suddenly ended.

Gone were the symbols of pride and patriotism, replaced by a disposition of, “business as usual.” Within a fleeting period, the attitude of the small anti-American minority began to infect the majority. Seemingly overnight, this disdain grew to a prevalence unlike anything we had ever seen before. Now, some twenty years
later it, we are reminded daily that it is somehow un-American to be American.

In the last few years, we have watched in shock and horror as our cities were set ablaze and our iconic symbols of history were toppled without exemption. Statues of those that served America faithfully and monuments to those that not only have improved our lives but risked much so that we would even have them, were quickly swept up in the wake of the mobs we saw before us.

How is it possible that the tragedies on that fateful day, let alone the tragic lessons we all seemed to learned that day are practically forgotten? While many today are striving to unravel the very fabric on which this country is founded, they do so with impunity, and little to no resistance.

Whether it is kneeling at the sound of our anthem, or the turning of backs on the same, a message has clearly been sent. Regardless of where many of us profess to stand, we have allowed those that do not represent us to represent us, while forcing those that often stood for us to stand alone.

Somehow, many of our parents, and we as parents have failed along the way. Clearly, not all or most, but enough of us that our conduct sends the message that when it comes to that terrible day in September so many years ago, we have all but forgotten.

Yet, standing amongst the dust and debris of what many have sought to destroy, those that love America and live lives that honor her, stand nonetheless resilient, for we refuse to stand by while negative events of the past seek to define a positive future.

George Santayana once famously pointed out that those that do not learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.

We must remember that when it comes to the freedoms that we employ and enjoy, though we may not have fought for them, they were indeed fought, and in many cases, died for. It is in lieu of these tragedies that we can ill afford to make the same mistakes again.

Regardless of your station in life, you must fight. And regardless of your economic status, you must fight. Your skin color, and/or ethnicity do not matter. Nor do your personal religious beliefs, you must fight. Our country, our future, our freedoms, and our way of life are being ripped away from us as we speak.

If not for your own sakes, for the sakes of our children and grandchildren. If we fail again, our descendants will not be saying, “What was 9/11?”; they will instead be saying, “What was America?”

 

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