A spirit of unity once helped our nation weather tough times. Can it be rekindled? Today can be more than a day of going through the motions. We can do honor this day of remembrance by holding on to it in the days to come.

I hope that the same spirit of unity we felt 15 years ago will be rekindled this year. We are more than Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Protestants, Catholics, etc.

For all our religious, cultural and ethnic differences, we are all Americans, and that’s what makes this country great. THAT is what we must never forget.

Show of Unity

I loved being at the right place, at the right time, to witness this bike parade in honor of 9/11.

 

Cultivating a Spirit of Unity

Anyone can show up for a party for one day. But the work of building up a neighborhood, building up a nation is ongoing. We owe it to ourselves to be more than bystanders. We owe it to ourselves and to other generations to show up every day, and treating each other as compatriots. That’s a word you don’t hear every day. We hear the word patriot quite often. To be a compatriot is to recognize that other folks are patriotic also.

For example, when we say that we have free speech, it is not for the purpose of protecting speech that everyone agrees with. Unpopular speech is what our founders had in mind when they passed that amendment. Back then, it was an unpopular proposition to want to break free of British Empire.

A family consists of people who love each other, even if they don’t agree with each other about everything. Let’s show the same level of respect and tolerance for other Americans. This is one of the few countries where you can be yourself, however you define yourself to be. Heck, you can even redefine yourself in ways that other generations and countries can’t even fathom, in terms of gender and religion. Again…we don’t need to agree with everything that we observe in society. But the freedom to pursue life as we see fit, is what sets our country apart.