9/12/2001: Reflections On The Dawning Of A New Day

My story is probably pretty similar to many others. On September 11, 2001, I awoke to a beautiful, sunny day in Austin, Texas.  I had my breakfast and my coffee, just like I would typically do any other day. I drove to the office, just like I had many times before. I listened to the radio on the drive in to the office.

It was just another typical day, right? As we all know, this day would be far from typical. Each passing moment seemed to present a new horror, beamed directly into our homes and our consciousness by the power of digital media.

On Wednesday, September 12, 2001, I awoke to the same sunshine, the same coffee, the same drive to work – but a world that had been forever changed. All those typical things weren’t so typical anymore. It was, as Don Henley once noted, “the end of the innocence”.

Looking back from a perspective 10 years removed, we will never take the pain away from 9/11/01. But we must also remember 9/12/01 and hold our heads high. It was the dawn after the dark. After the shock and anguish of the day before, it was the day that we got up off the mat, the day we were strongly reminded of the values that are at the core of this great country. It was a day that we pulled together – one nation, indivisible. 

I will not forget sitting dumbfounded in the parking lot just before 8:00 am central time that Tuesday morning when the world as I knew it changed. I hurried up to the office, and patients and staff alike congregated in front of the TV there in stunned silence.

The things we thought couldn’t and wouldn’t ever happen on our own soil – did. We were brought face to face with evil in ways that we could only imagine. Ten years later, it is still difficult to watch a documentary on TV without feeling a tear welling up in your eye. A day like that is something that you will never be able to forget. There are many that spend sleepless nights recounting the loss of friends, family, and co-workers to this day. It is impossible to imagine how the victims’ families have ever managed the pain, the suffering, the anger, and the loss. 

But we should also never forget the way that we pulled together as a nation in our darkest hour. We found a way to come together as one in ways that we may never fully comprehend. We held hands with our fellow person, regardless of color or gender, and embraced each other. We cared for each other. We took pride in our freedoms, and in our commonality.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. (Pledge of Allegiance, 1942)

In times when we struggle with the silliness and pettiness of our daily lives, we need to step back and remember days like 9/12/01 – the day we started picking up the pieces and truly caring about one another again. It would have been easy to just live in fear of terrorism. But that’s not the American way.

Today, we should be reminded not only of evil, but of love as well. After darkness comes the dawn. Perhaps there is some solace to be found in what we can be, even in our darkest and most challenging times. One nation, indivisible – indeed.

Photo credits: Wikipedia