It
has been five years. Five very quick and five very long years
since September 11, 2001. We have each witnessed healing; in
our personal lives, in our nation and across our globe. And
we have each witnessed continued pain and hatred; in our personal
lives, our nation and across our globe.
As
I've watched the continued reporting leading up to the fifth
anniversary coverage, I continue to wonder if our world is any
more peaceful than it was before that gentle morning was ripped
wide open and some of our gentleness and innocence stripped
away.
So
what can be said, after five years later?
During
the days following the tragedy of September 11, I took a few
moments to reflect on what I might have to say to my then three-year-old
son Leo. And now five years later, I reflect again on what I
might have to eventually say to my now three-year-old triplets
Emily, Hannah and Nicholas. What do I say then? Most likely
the very same thing I wrote just days following our nation's
worst day...
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What
Do I Say?
In Memory of September 11, 2001
The
images are inescapable. The horror is unexplainable. So what
do I say to my child?
How
do I possibly explain to him the rationale behind human actions
that could produce such massive pain and suffering? And what
young child could possibly grasp the horrific tragedy and the
twisted motivation behind it? I’m not sure I can fully
grasp this moment in all its sorrow and pain. So what can I
possibly say to my child?
What
do I say to my child when he recognizes the expressions of despair,
anger, frustration and extreme sorrow on my face? And how can
I explain to him the unexplainable connection I feel to thousands
of lives I’ve never known and faces I’ve never met?
How can I begin to understand it myself?
It
is in these difficult questions that I realize there still remains
a young child within me as well; staring up with wondering and
questioning eyes. And just as important, what do I say to this
child within?
What
do I say to this child inside that still wants to believe that
we shouldn’t – regardless of age - hit, kick, spit
at or bite another person?
What
do I say to this child inside that still wants to believe that
we should – regardless of color or creed - play fair,
share, treat others as we would want to be treated, and trust
one another?
What
do I say to this child inside that still wants to believe –
regardless of faith - that saying evening prayers and wishing
on stars can somehow make everything okay?
What
do I say to this child inside that still wants to believe that
there still is – regardless of upbringing - good in every
person?
Tonight
I’ll take my child, hug him tightly and offer him this
attempt of my simple understanding and faith:
“Yes,
my child, sometimes bad things happen, but many more good things
happen much more often. I still believe it is the greatness
of God that brings all these good things into being and it is
the depth of God that is able to understand and support us during
these bad things.
And yes, my child, sometimes people do bad things, but so many
more people do so many good things. I still believe it is the
goodness of our divine spirit that will always overcome the
evil of our human action. It is the God within that is the good
that remains in each of us.
And yes, I still believe God does and wants only good things
for all people and because of that, everything will be okay.
For beyond our wishing stars, God most definitely hears all
the simple prayers of our heart and is already answering them.
And,
in spite of all that has happened or is about to happen, I still
believe we are eternally connected to one another – regardless
of political or geographic boundaries - by our hope and our
humanity. And it is in this humanity, we still need to be nice
to one another.”
Perhaps
for the child grasping onto my leg and the child within grasping
at my heart, that’s all that can be said.