The Hearts of Americans
September 11, 2011
The Americans who rose to the occasion on 9 – 11, who rushed up stairwells, who said prayers on cell phones, who waited to die with wheelchair-bound colleagues on the highest floors, have permanent places in the hearts of Americans and their acts of courage unite them with history.
Our enemies never learn.
People with the heritage of America in their blood, or those who have adopted and embraced it as their own, don’t respond to tyranny and violence by…..running. Or hiding. Or collapsing. Or by expecting strangers to come to the rescue. Resolve and remarkable certainty explodes out of our citizens when we realize that the liberty or intrinsic good nature of our people is put in jeopardy. Legs bolt into action. Heroes are quickened. Ordinary people with no record of bravery suddenly realize that they too are exceptional.
We were not horrified at the loss of the World Trade Center Towers. We were sickened at the loss of
our neighbors. The fathers of children. Innocent travelers who had destinations that made a difference. Mothers who would be expected at home.
There is a reason citizens of the world note something special every time an American flag and its fifty stars is hoisted at a ballpark or above the eyes of an Olympian, or gently draped on the casket of a solider. It is a banner unlike any other in the world, because no where on earth, has a flag represented such a pursuit of justice. So much sacrifice. So much service to mankind.
The hearts of Americans are woven into every star and every stripe. The story of our country has been built brick by brick by the families of our families, immigrant by immigrant, hero by hero. Does our democracy often tug and pull at the legacy? Yes, but the USA is never defined by our differences on the front page.
Americans are the sum of those who have come before us and the valiant ones we miss now.
The men and women who sealed our freedom with their lives on 9 -11.
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Perfect. Beautiful. Nothing else needs to be said. Thank you.
I can only hope that if faced with a similar situation, I too could be relied upon to serve my fellow man with my life. I coul not admire a group of people more than I do all those whose lives were sacrificed; then and in ongoing years. You will remain in our hearts and memory forever.