A message that still resonates 20 years later

Note: I was honored by the New Jersey Broadcasters Association for a story about my hometown that originally aired on September 11, 2004. That story received the NJBA’s “Best of the Best” award, and on the anniversary, I wanted to not only share it with you, but also ask you how much has changed over the years. With all the upheaval in the world, we could agree that the answer is not much.

VIEW OF HOMETOWN (September 11, 2004)

The third anniversary of September 11 has been marked by tributes and commemorations across the country. Almost all of these commemorations were intended to remind us of the thousands of innocent victims who lost their lives and whom we vowed to “never forget.” However, I believe we have already forgotten the great lesson we learned immediately after the tragedy of that September day three years ago.

If 9/11 was a positive experience, it was our willingness to come together and understand that the little obstacles we often face in life are just… little. In other words, we began to put things into perspective and for a while, we didn’t take things like family, friends, and health for granted. We also showed tolerance and patience with each other and I remember saying how nice it was to see people go out of their way for complete strangers. Again, it was the little things that stood out… saying PLEASE and THANK YOU… holding the door open for someone… letting a driver go in front of you.

Well, three years later, I think that spirit has pretty much disappeared and we’re back to where we were before. It’s the “me, me” philosophy that’s coming back and the warmth and sweetness of post-9/11 America has been replaced by a concern for the greater good.

Why do we need a tragedy to remind us that even though we are all different, we are also the same. Why can’t the good feelings we had for each other, regardless of race, religion or social status, continue? In some cases, we are more divided today than before terrorists changed the way we live.

Maybe the answer is simple. Maybe it’s just because Americans are at their best in tough times… That’s when we get together and realize for a while that the only thing we can agree on is that red, white and blue may not be perfect… but it’s better than anywhere else. We are the land of the free and the home of the brave… I just wish it didn’t always take the negatives to find the positives.