9/11

Today marks the seventh anniversary of 9/11, and like most people, I think the arrival of this day causes us to reflect on where we were, and how we felt when this tragedy occurred. I don't have a very good memory, and can't remember much (just ask Mel--she'll confirm this fact). But I will never forget that morning in Argentina, watching the news cast from an investigator's house, and wishing, hoping, praying, that it was just an unfortunate accident that a plane ran into a building. Unfortunately for us all, it wasn't.

It was interesting to see the reaction in Buenos Aires. Those who constantly spewed vitriolic remarks at us as missionaries continued to do so, even in our time of grief and uncertainty, as if they enjoyed rubbing caustic salt in our wounds from that day. Others were compassionate and recognized that even though they may not like the United States, what happened that day was something that was so terrible, it was time to put aside our differences and show each other a little bit of what is so lacking in this world: compassion and love.

While we were in New York, Mel and I stopped by Ground Zero, and we stood there at the fence, in silence, peering through a little hole in the fabric to catch a glimpse of the giant chasm that has been left. That was one of those moments of self-reflection that knocks you to the ground in a speechless stupor, and makes you realize what a blessing our lives are, and how grateful I am to have people serving in the military and risking their lives so that I can sleep safely at night and live in a country that understands freedom and democracy.

Directly across from Ground Zero is a small church, called St Paul's Church. This church is one of the oldest buildings on Manhattan, and George Washington had his own reserved pew at this church (which is still there, by the way). After the attacks, St Paul's Church was turned into an emergency shelter for firefighters and other rescuers to come in and lay down for a few hours. Grief counselors volunteered their time to stay at the church 24/7 to talk to anyone who needed to talk. To this day, you can see scuff marks and scratches left from rescuers laying in the pews who were too tired to remove their tools and boots. The church interior was coverd by postcards and letters coming from throughout the world. The church has since been cleaned up, but they have a few small memorials set up to remember what had occurred at this site. I didn't take any pictures of the memorials that have remained in the chapel. Somehow it didn't seem like the right thing to do. When we arrived at the chapel, there was a flautist performing a recital. We sat in one of the pews, reflecting and listening.

I'm pretty confident I will never be able to contemplate what compels people to create such evil. What is it that makes someone decide that in order to make their point, they need to cause so much death and grief? I don't know, but to me it seems to be something sub-human. I can't imagine how it would be to live with such disdain for the lives of others.

I'm not exactly sure why I'm writing this. I think, in a way, we're all still recovering from what happened that day. If there was one glimmer of light from that awful event, it was witnessing the patriotism that spread across the country following the attacks. Everyone seemed to treat each other a little nicer, and give each other the benefit of the doubt. Flags were blanketing neighborhoods, and it seemed that everyone treated each other with a little more respect. I guess I'm writing this for myself. To help me to remember what happened that day, and how I felt. I'm hopeful that we can continue to reflect on 9/11, and if we reflect a little bit about that awful event, let's renew our efforts to revisit those feelings we had. I will try a little harder to be patriotic, and to be thankful for what I have in my life. I will try to be more respectful and understanding of others. I will try my best to realize the fragility of life. And if I do those things, maybe I'll be able to catch a little glimpse of a silver lining, regardless of how small it may be, that surrounds the disgustingly dark cloud of 9/11.

I challenge you to do the same.




CNN Blog
Glenn Beck Audio Montage (16 minutes)