This month we remember a very important date in American history:  September 11th, 2001.  While many of our online students were not yet alive, it is an important date to understand, remember, and reflect upon.  

The day was completely unlike any other, and many of your teachers and staff remember it very clearly.  We heard early in the morning that planes had hit the World Trade Center, but many thought it was an accident, a mere radar malfunction.  By the time most of us on the West Coast were headed to work or school, the first tower had fallen.  The second one followed shortly after.  I personally was in high school, as most of you are now, and I remember going from class to class in a bit of a daze.  There wasn’t much work done that day as we sorrowfully watched the news holding out hope that more people would be rescued.  There weren’t many, and the full impact of what had happened to our nation began to sink in.  We had been attacked, and we were angry about it.  We were a nation united in anger, sorrow, and pride.

As the days passed, stories of patriotism and heroism poured out of the ugly.  Something so devastating, destructive, and horrifying turned into a strong nation united and determined.  People joined the military, helped strangers in need, gave blood, donated to those who lost, volunteered to comb through debris to find those who were lost to give peace to families, wore flags, and showed the world that we would not be stopped by acts of violence.

Firefighters, police, and citizens freely gave of themselves to pull the nation through this trying and devastating time.  President Bush stood on the site of the fallen towers and declared that the world could hear our determination and strength, and the people that knocked down the towers would tremble in fear of us.  People rallied.  A nation united.

Since that day, the world has changed.  We became involved in two major conflicts in the Middle East, Afghanistan and Iraq.  We took a global stand on terrorism, and while the nation has not always agreed on how these wars on terrorism should be fought, there has been strength.  An important lesson lurks beneath the surface, and something has shifted that is significant and different this time. 

When we fought wars in Korea and Vietnam, the nation protested the wars and the soldiers who fought in them.  This time, people protest the war and not the ones who put their lives on the line. Men and women have died defending those lives that were lost on 9/11, and they are among the best heroes.   We honor and respect them.

Hopefully we have learned lessons from this tragedy that we will take with us as we move into the future.  Out of an ugly event came strength, beauty, heroism, and unity.  The goal is always to leave the ugly behind and take the strength and heroism with us into the future.  There was no shortage of heroism on 9/11, and may we never forget.  

In honor of those who dedicate their lives in defense of ours.

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