Today is the 11th anniversary of the destruction of the World Trade Center. That planned attack was often referred to in the media in the days and weeks after September 11, 2011, as the "tragedy" of 9/11, even though the word "attack" would have been quite accurate. It was as if people were reluctant to acknowledge the reality of the aggression and its ramifications for us all.
In a Long Island classroom on the morning of September 11, 2001, after the towers had fallen, a teacher told his students that he loved them. The teacher also told the class the world had changed and his students would have to be better students. And he would have to be a better teacher.
Today's sad anniversary marks an appropriate occasion to rededicate oneself to that goal of being better, no matter what role we fulfill in a nation whose way of life and very existence can only be guaranteed by the sincerity of our efforts.
In the words of George Washington, words inscribed on the Washington Square Arch in Greenwich Village, New York City: "Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair. The event is in the hand of God."
We must strive to be better, to make our nation better. Better in the face of attack or tragedy.
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