This post first appeared in the CRG blog on September 11, 2010…
I was in Hawaii on September 11, 2001. The time there is 6 hours behind that of the east coast of the U.S. So I groggily answer a call around 4:00 am from an employee of Live Oak Capital (my former company) that informed me that the U.S was under terrorist attack. “Huh,” was my foggy brained response. And right after that (as I began to awaken, perturbed by the call), “is this some kind of a joke” (or something to that effect). Flipping on the tube I found out quickly that no it was definitely not a joke.
I always get mesmerized by these 9-11 anniversaries when we relive each and every second of that fateful morning. Surely there has never been an event in world history that was as carefully documented and broadcasted live as 9-11. And each and every videotape serves as a precious reminder of just how vulnerable even the greatest superpower can be.
What is always most inspiring on these days of remembrance and what always tends to make one a little prouder to be from the U.S., is the level of courage and selflessness on display that day. Political, ideological, ethnic, religious, or economic differences ceased to matter. For a brief moment, what mattered most was preserving life. And many lost theirs in the attempt.
The decision by those courageous “average joes” (who in reality were anything but) on flight 93, who in an instant, as soon as they figured out exactly what the five hi-jackers were really up to, decided to put an end to their plot, is heroic beyond words that I am capable of expressing. Likewise the courage of N.Y.C. police and firefighters who stormed into those burning buildings and then up those stairwells to hell, is also hard to describe with mere words. And then there were the ordinary citizens, caught up in something they certainly hadn’t planned for that morning, who simply helped one another.
I heard a quote today that came close to offering up at least semi-adequate words.
That the 9-11 tragedy showed us the worst of our enemies and the best of ourselves.
Some would use the event of 9-11 to provoke hatred. I would rather remember it to inspire love, love of country, but also love of humanity. That is what will conquer evil.