How do you properly remember a day like September 11th, 2001?
It is fitting not just to recall the horrors of the injuries, those scenes of innocent people leaping from the windows of skyscrapers, the death and destruction, but to also remember the selfless sacrifice made by those rushing up smoke-filled stairs to rescue innocent victims, the courage of those who staged a daring rebellion aboard United Flight 93 in their struggle to save others on the ground, and the way our nation came together to support our fellow countrymen with our resources and skills, our money, and most importantly our prayers.
And while we remember how those events have forever changed our lives, while we mourn and pray for those whose losses were so much greater than our own, we must also ensure that we never forget the purpose of those who committed the atrocities of September 11th.
The tragic scene that played out on our TV screen and TV screens all across this nation was the result of a cold, calculated plan to kill thousands of innocent people - not because of who they were or anything they had done, but merely because they were citizens of this country - a country founded upon the belief that Almighty God has given to every man, woman, and child the unalienable right to live and breathe free. We cannot lose sight of the fact that those core, fundamental principles and ideals that define America were exactly what came under attack that morning.
September 11th, 2001 taught us again, as generations before us have learned, that the values of life, liberty, freedom, and equality - values that we, like our forefathers, cherish - cannot be taken for granted. They are bought with a price. But Americans have never been afraid to pay that price...it's our history. It's our heritage.
That price was paid on the beaches of Normandy. It was paid in the waters of the Pacific. It was paid in the bitter winters of Korea. That price was paid in the rice patties and jungles of Vietnam. It was paid in the minefields and sands of Desert Storm. Our nation, no matter how great, is not invincible. Therefore, we must always be willing to defend our freedom and our values, no matter the cost.
So on this tragic anniversary, let us do more than just remember the dead. Let us do more than just honor their passing and memorialize their lives. Let us do more than think back on our own sorrow, our own pain, our own bitterness. Let us remember the lessons of September 11th: that heroes are often the most common and simple among us; that the ideals of liberty, hope, and freedom are more than just words, and they are always worth defending; that our way of life and our reliance on our Creator cannot be defeated by any act of violence; that heroism isn't marked by those that wear baseball, basketball or football uniforms, but by those that wear the uniform of their country, their city, or their town; that pledging to continue the fight - that eternal struggle for the freedom of mankind - has become the calling of our time.
As Abraham Lincoln looked upon the hills of Gettysburg, the sight of another terrible loss of American life, he spoke these immortal words: "It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
Lincoln's words, spoken 140 years ago, must resonate with us today. On September 11th, nearly 3,000 Americans gave the last full measure of their devotion to this country. No, they didn't do it by leading a cavalry charge, by firing cannons, or affixing bayonets. They gave their last full measure of devotion to this country by going to work, boarding planes to see friends and family, and exercising the simple but precious freedoms and liberties that define this land.
And just as Lincoln called his generation of Americans to resolve that those who fell on the battlefield would not have died in vain, we today must call all Americans to recommit to the great task remaining before us - to preserve, protect, and defend this country, its ideals, its principles, its heritage, and its hope...so that those who perished on that horrible day shall not have died in vain. When we do that, we have truly honored the legacy of September 11th.
