9/11 2008

I apologize for going off topic today.

I went back and forth trying to decide whether I should write a 9/11 post.  On the one hand it’s important to remember what our country went through and to never forget those who perished and what we lost as a country.  On the other , so many have and will say those things better than I can hope to.

I also didn’t want to write a regular post since it felt weird to have a personal finance article coming out today.  I also wasn’t sure I wanted to not release anything.

It’s been seven years and though the shock of the day has worn off some there’s still a feeling of great reverence (I know there’s a better word out there) for what happened that fateful morning.  As you know I live in NYC and yes, I was in Manhattan when the towers were hit and went down.  I remember the smoke, the smell (which lasted weeks?), the sound of fighter jets (I heard a what I could swear was a sonic boom over the Empire State Building), the emergency sirens, (there seemed to be no crime for days, every siren was going or coming from one place) the noise, the silence, the unity, the paranoia, the sadness, the hope…

And that’s where I want to head for – the hope.  In our country’s history we have “the shot heard ’round the world,” “the day that lives in infamy,” and 9/11.  One started us down the road to independence, the other united us to defend democracy.  Where does 9/11 stand in the chronicles of history?  It’s too early to tell but the day will not be forgotten.

But I hope the day comes to stand for a new awareness and a new hope for not only our country but for the world.  We are very much a global economy.  But there’s still a lot that separates the very many countries in this world.  We can be the vanguard that brings about global change and unity or we can be what separates us all.  I vote for the former.  I’m not saying I know the answer but we need to push ourselves to the forefront again.  To be the country that creates new markets and new technologies.  The country that extends the olive branch out to make us closer to one world rather than many entities.

Let us all remember the tragedy that is 9/11.  Remember all that was lost.  But let’s also remember what a great nation we can be as well.

photo credit: hive

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