Attending Canton Township’s 25th anniversary memorial service for September 11, 2001, the clear blue skies and bright sunshine reminded me of the day 25 years ago when the United States was attacked by terrorists.
The memorial service featured:
- Musical tribute
- Canton Fire Department Honor Guard
- Playing of taps
- Canton fire chief
- Michigan State Representative Ranjeev Puri
- Local faith leaders
I listened as U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell spoke about her experience that morning flying to Washington, DC and how Americans can choose to remember and honor September 11.
Here’s some of her speech:
Remembrance must be more than looking backwards.
We should also remember who we were in those days after.
We were frightened, but we didn’t let ourselves be consumed by fear.
We were grieving, but we reached out to one another.
We were attacked, but we didn’t turn our anger against innocent people in our own communities.
We found strength in coming together.
And today, that is the lesson I ask for us to remember for the next 25 years.
We can’t change what happened on September 11, 2001.
We can’t bring back those we lost.
And many of us know some that died that day.
But we can decide what that memory asks of us.
The lesson of September 11 isn’t simply that evil exists. We already knew that.
The lesson is that in our darkest moments, we have a chance to decide who we will be.
We can retreat into fear, suspicion, and hatred.
Or we can choose courage.
We can choose compassion.
We can choose to protect one another.
Remembrance is not enough.
