I think almost everyone in America remembers where they were the morning of September 11, 2001, a day that will forever be known simply as “9/11”. Whether in an office, our home, our car, our school – anywhere we were – the horrors of that day are forever etched in America’s collective memory.
What is thought of less often, though, is where we were on the morning of September 12th. That day dawned just like any other day, yet even though that dawning came with a sun covered by the deep, ugly shadows of what so many had always thought of as the impossible, America awakened stronger than she had been in some 200-odd years. By that dark and smoldering dawn’s early light She was deeply united, resolute and firm in Her resolve against the enemies of freedom.
It has only been a few years yet, unbelievably, politicians are starting to dumb down what happened on those two critical days. The current administration is blatantly attempting to usurp its reality and the need for remembrance and turn it into some weird distortion of “service”, solely in furtherance of its dangerous ideologies.
I find this not only audaciously crass, but abhorrant. It is through reverent remembrance of the reality of 9/11 that we honor those who started out that fateful day – just like they started any other day – without realizing it would be their last. Through reverent remembrance of the reality of 9/11 we honor those who willingly sacrificed their lives trying to save others as buildings collapsed and planes crashed; whether they wore a uniform or not, each and every one of them is forever a hero.
By remembering the reality of 9/11 – that America was attacked in blind hate by those who would destroy Her simply because of Her freedoms – we honor every one of the 2,966 people who died that day. And as we work our way through the memories, at the end we will find ourselves back once more at the morning of 9/12, the morning when we stood together in our tears and our pained confusion but certain of one thing: America was still standing and we, the people, would not let her go down without a united fight.
Remember, America. Remember.
The 9/12
The 9 Principles
1. | America Is Good. |
2. | I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life. |
God “The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” from George Washington’s first Inaugural address. | |
3. | I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday. |
Honesty “I hope that I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider to be the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” George Washington | |
4. | The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government. |
Marriage/Family “It is in the love of one’s family only that heartfelt happiness is known. By a law of our nature, we cannot be happy without the endearing connections of a family.” Thomas Jefferson | |
5. | If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it. |
Justice “I deem one of the essential principles of our government… equal and exact justice to all men of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political.” Thomas Jefferson | |
6. | I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results. |
Life, Liberty, & The Pursuit of Happiness “Everyone has a natural right to choose that vocation in life which he thinks most likely to give him comfortable subsistence.” Thomas Jefferson | |
7. | I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable. |
Charity “It is not everyone who asketh that deserveth charity; all however, are worth of the inquiry or the deserving may suffer.” George Washington | |
8. | It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion. |
On your right to disagree “In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain the voice of the multitude; every man will speak as he thinks, or more properly without thinking.” George Washington | |
9. | The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me. |
Who works for whom? “I consider the people who constitute a society or a nation as the source of all authority in that nation.” Thomas Jefferson |
The 12 Values
* Honesty
* Reverence
* Hope
* Thrift
* Humility
* Charity
* Sincerity
* Moderation
* Hard Work
* Courage
* Personal Responsibility
* Gratitude