After 9/11, We Found Unity. We Must Reclaim That in a Post-January 6 America
Twenty years ago, we witnessed a defining moment in American and world history. The terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 changed a generation and shaped our world like few events ever have, or ever will. With the passing of time, a new generation forges ahead and creates their own future while we commemorate the victims and struggle with the lessons of our past. The world has now watched as the war which the attacks started has come to an ignominious end. And those of us who lived through that day and saw an unspeakable tragedy unite our nation now wonder how—in one lifetime—we have drifted so far apart.
As a first responder to what became known as Ground Zero, my memories are as vivid today as they were then: The sights, smell, and sounds remain impossible to describe. For years, the unspoken and inexplicable rule amongst my colleagues was that you did not talk about 9/11.
