Thinking of NYC
11 September 2011
I was torn whether to write anything. As someone never at a loss for words, I remember not really being able to talk much that day, or even to process the whys and whats of it since. At the very least, we all know someone who knows someone who experienced the trauma of losing a loved one that day or in the wars waged since. My brother was doing his five years as an active United States Marine when those planes hit the buildings, and soon enough ended up in Iraq during a particularly violent few months. He is thankfully still here to live his life, but there are many who are not.
The events of that morning were an aberration of the spirit that lives in us all. Fortunately, even as the horror unfolded, we witnessed the best of that spirit bringing people together. We were united in the knowledge that our love is bonded by serving one another. Whatever the reason people give for committing such atrocities, let us unite in the cause of increasing understanding among cultures across the planet. When there is greater understanding, perhaps such raw, misguided contempt will no longer have fertile ground.
