U.N.I.T.Y

This logic might sound twisted, but the last time I felt a real sense of UNITY in our nation was in the days following 9/11. Anyone old enough to process what was happening can remember where they were when they heard the shocking news reports. Aaron and I were on the way to work as reporters at a local weekly newspaper and thought the first crash was an accident. ("A plane accidentally crashed into the World Trade Center? How does that even happen?") By the time we got to work and the second plane hit, everyone pretty much thought the same thing.  "Oh, shit. This was definitely no accident." One of our coworkers turned on the radio and we listened in disbelief. What was happening? Why would anyone do that ... on purpose? I will never forget those images that came out following the attacks, the smoking towers, the brave firefighters that ran into the buildings as others ran away, terrified New Yorkers out in the streets, totally covered in white ashes like ghost people, dazed loved ones looking for missing family/friends (candles and photos and hope and fear), the altered skyline. In a lot of ways, it was the day we lost our innocence. No way was I going to fly, I was nervous/anxious in crowded places, I was scared of another attack. Our sense of security—as we knew it—had been rocked to the core (I had a hard time sleeping ... although part of that might have been thanks to Aaron's rickety futon in his little efficiency apartment on Marshall avenue). 

But can you remember what happened AFTER the attacks? Do you remember how Americans came together? We stopped seeing our differences. Gay, straight, black, white, man, woman, old, young. It didn't matter. We were American. We were scared, yes, but there was this overwhelming sense of community and pride. Look at everyone rallying together, helping one another. You can just feel the love and support, the UNITY. Look at all those American flags. We are the land of the free and the home of the brave and we can get knocked down and come back 10 times stronger.
I hope, in my lifetime, I'll feel that same sense of unity again (without it being a result of a terrorist attack). 

Last week's events were awful (and just when I thought it couldn't get much worse ... the attack happened in France). I read my Facebook feed and so many people are hurting. I keep thinking, "But what if it was YOUR loved one? How would you feel then?" There seems to be an awful lot of misinformation being circulated as "fact," and some really wild assumptions out there. Anything that divides people can spawn hostility, and right now our country feels more broken than ever. How do we learn to listen to one another and consider other points of view? Am I being insensitive? Am I being too sensitive? Can I feel sad about one thing and mad about another without being labeled a certain way? What's the answer? How do we get there? And around and around we go. (The topic might be slighty different, but the sentiments are the same.) 

This world of ours... must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect. Dwight D. Eisenhower
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_respect.html

This world of ours... must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect. Dwight D. Eisenhower
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_respect.html