Sept. 11 is more than just a day we remember the horrific attack on our country and all the devastation and loss of life. It’s a day when we banish division, hatred, animosity, self-centeredness, and all the evils that are tearing our country apart. Let’s let today be the re-start of a nation-family that honors, respects, and listens to each other and has the highest good for our fellow Americans–and the whole human family–at heart.
A few years ago I experienced the Arizona Memorial in Hawaii. The visit began with a film showing the horrors of the attack on Pearl Harbor. My eyes blurred with tears. Then there was the choppy boat trip to the monument, a short distance from other coffin-ships which suffered the same fate as the Arizona. So many names filled the wall behind the altar-like steps, and the hush of the crowd echoed the silent voices trapped deep beneath us. Little was said on the trip back to land, but one absurd, disturbing comment shocked me into realizing that we’ve learned so little since then: “At least we got even when we hit Hiroshima.”
This Veterans Day I’m thinking the Canadians are right to call it “Remembrance Day.” It’s important to remember and honor our veterans, those who fought for our way of life. It’s even more important to remember that, as a human family, we should work toward a time when the reason for such occasions, and comments like that woman’s, are only adistant bad memory.
Hug a veteran, and pray for peace.