We The People... We Forgot.

Dear 9/11,

I’m sorry! We said we would never forget you. We promised. And we didn’t keep our word. Hate is what created you. And hate has overtaken us.

When that plane struck the World Trade Center, we forgot how the police officers and firemen ran to the building as we ran away. When the second plane hit Tower Two, we forgot that those same police officers and firemen kept running to the buildings. We forgot about how those men and women scaled the staircases to rescue those inside, not caring if they were helping men, women, whites, blacks, Christians, or Muslims. And when the third plane struct the Pentagon... we forgot that those who worked to rescue those who were hurt didn’t care if they were Republican or Democrat. They were human, and they were hurting and scared. They needed help and help came when terror struct. We forgot that when the plane crashed in a Pennsylvania field it was because American’s sacrificed their lives to keep other American’s they had never met alive.

When the Twin Towers fell, and smoke and ash filled the air, we forget how the ash covered bodies all had the same color. Living or dead, black or white, Law enforcement or civilian... everyone was the same color covered in ash and dirt.

Everyone was human.

We forgot. We promised we wouldn’t, and We THE PEOPLE... we forgot.

We forgot that when those terrorists tried to dismantle our country, that we reacted with unity. We forgot that when hate tried to take us down, we made the decision as a nation to not let hate divide us, but to unite us against it and to stand stronger. The America of September 12, 2001... the day after terror rocked our hearts and our safety... that was a day we remembered how to be strong against our enemies, to stand for humanity, and to fight for freedom. It was a day we said terror will not stand on American soil. And we forgot that day.

Today, we have terror among ourselves. We have no one else to blame. We let hate divide us by color. We let hate tell us that terror in our cities and in our streets is the American way. We let hate convince us that those who vowed to protect us... to be the ones who run to us when we are in trouble, when our safety is at stake... that we were better off without them. We told ourselves that they all hated us and were our enemies. We turned on them and hate has lied to us and told us that we are doing the right thing. Hate is winning, and we keep forgetting that this is not the way!

Hate won in Rome when Christians men, woman, and children were fed to lions in the Colosseum for sport. Hate won in Europe when 6,000,000 Jews were murdered on a daily basis because they were “unfit for life.” Hate won when between 500,000 and 1,000,000 of the Tutsi people were slaughtered in the Rwanda genocide in a span of just 3 months just for being born. We have forgotten what hate can do.

To the 3,000 people that died on this day 19 years ago, I’m sorry for forgetting that hate took you from us. I know we have forgotten because we have let hate overtake us now. And somehow, we don’t care.

I pray we wake up soon. That we remember that hate is evil and has no place in the human heart. I pray we start to remember. We said we would remember. Forgive us, The People, for forgetting how to love and protect. For forgetting what terror looks like. For forgetting that freedom isn’t free. For forgetting the cost that was paid by you and by all the men and woman who have fought to keep us free since that day.

Forgive us, September 11th. We didn’t mean to forget you.

Sincerely,

The People.