Sandra Hults
Author
Let them in, Peter
Inspired by: Prayer to St. Peter – Edwin McCain
I sat here and looked at this picture and the blank screen for awhile before figuring out what I wanted to say. Has it really been fifteen years? A lot of people will write about what they were doing that day and the helplessness they felt so I am not going to beat you to death with similar sentiments. I know what I was doing and felt. I listened to the song above on repeat while glued to CNN. I feel sadness today but for very different reasons.
In that mass hysteria in 2001, the bravery of the American spirit shined. People stood up for their neighbors, their friends and people did the right thing. It is sad that people have forgotten that beauty fifteen years later. In the middle of racial and religious tensions, did we somehow lose that beauty? Because, yes, 9/11 was horrific and awful but even then, there was beauty. Beauty in the bravery of people; in their willingness to do what was necessary, what was right. And, for the love of Light, don’t get me started on politics. Politics are a no-fly zone on the blog. You have your views. I have mine. I prefer not to be beaten bloody with yours because you perceive your rightness of the situation.
I digress. In a way it makes me sad to see what it took for the people of this country to band together and how quickly that unity fell back into chaos. I’ve seen posts littering Facebook about how “we hope this doesn’t have to happen again to fix our country.” Can I just say that is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever read? If you were old enough to have memory of this event and the terror it invited, you should never…I repeat NEVER say something like that. That is an insult to the survivors and the families of those who died. To me, it discounts the sacrifices so many made.
My best friend is a firefighter. To imagine him having to respond to such a call hurts my heart and starts up so many worries. I cannot fathom how the families of those first responders felt 15 years ago. I cannot begin to put myself in their shoes. So today, thank a first responder for what they do. Reflect on the magnitude of the event. Do not forget those that sacrificed so much to save another.
Sandra Hults 