It's already been seven years

Like many people, I can remember very clearly what I was doing when the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 started.  Not just remember what I was doing, but what I was feeling: sad, confused, angry, unsure, scared.  But, now, as we commemorate the seventh anniversary of those attacks, I feel those same feelings, yet with a different context.

I asked myself this morning, "Have we forgotten what happened?"  Sure, there are a lot of ceremonies honoring those that died.  Our news media will be replaying all of the horrifying images from that day and trying to analyze how safe we are from another attack.  Polls show that our country's concern over another act of terrorism is at its lowest level since 2001.  And certainly, for as life altering as that day was for all of us, we must move on.

But now, I think the better question is "Have we forgotten how we reacted?"

We, the people of the United States, reacted in a way that was, in a word, holy.

Men and women - young and old - being obedient to their vocation to the armed forces to sacrifice their very lives to protect you and me (which they continue to do today).  Americans rich and poor caring for total strangers, no matter how near or far.  Family being the priority over sports, business, politics, money.  Priests and pastors of every denomination preaching to packed churches.  Self-donation exceeding self-satisfaction.  A nation that was truly, if only for a moment, one under God.

Perhaps all of the pomp and circumstance of today will remind us of this: that the best way for our country to honor those who died is not just to be more protected and secure, but for Americans to be truly and authentically loving of family, friends and the other alike, as we were on Sept. 11, 2001.