It doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't make a difference where you were. It doesn't matter what you were doing. If you were alive on September 11, 2001, you remember this day. It's the day that changed America forever. It was one of the worst attacks ever on America and on American soil. It's the day that four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda killed 2,996 innocent people, injured thousands more and brought down the Twin Towers in New York City.
In the months and years following that horrific day, our country fought to rebuild, comeback and return to some form of normalcy. In the chaotic aftermath of 9/11, something amazing happened: Americans bonded and came together like never before. It didn't matter who you were, what color your skin was or what you believed in. People started treating people like human beings again. Being nice, caring, showing concern and compassion overtook the American spirit like never before. So many people proudly displayed the American flag, enlisted in the military, lined up to donate blood and volunteer however they could. Even lawmakers pushed aside party lines to help America recover and passed a $40 billion anti-terrorism and victim aid measure. The United States was truly united like never before.
But 15 years later, where are we now? Are we a country united or one divided again? A look at the headlines and it's pretty clear the American sentiment of the post 9/11 days are sadly long forgotten. The 2016 race to the White House is a mockery. We have two presidential candidates who are perhaps the most hated contenders of any candidates ever before. We have sports figures refusing to stand for the national anthem and disgracing our freedom and the very men and women who protect us and give us that freedom. We have Olympians who are supposed to be representing America going out drinking in a foreign country and damaging property and then lying about it. The uniformed men and women who emerged as heroes on September 11 now must fear for their lives now more than ever before. Anti-police officer sentiment is rising. America, while still the greatest country in the world, is in complete disarray in so many ways.
On this 15th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, let us not just pause for a moment at 8:46 a.m., the exact time when five hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into the north tower. Remembering for a minute each year and then moving on with our lives, while a nice gesture and something we should all partake in, won't change things. Instead, let's truly embrace the American spirt, the same spirit that drew us together as a nation following the 2001 attacks. Let us come together as brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors. Let us uplift one another, help each other out, be nice to people and treat everyone as equals.
We have to take action to bring our country back together again. The terrorists aren't going to destroy us, but we ourselves are going to be the downfall of America. As Abraham Lincoln said, "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
The September 11 terrorist attacks prove that we cannot be destroyed from the outside. But the turmoil that is unfolding before our very eyes is proof that we the people of America are bringing this great country down on our own. Donald Trump wants to "Make America great again." I say American is already great. Let's become a truly unified country and make it even greater. That is the best way to mark and remember 9/11.
As Australian politician Pauline Hanson said, "To survive in peace and harmony, united and strong, we must have one people, one nation, one flag."