The True Legacy of September 11th

Note: The following is an op-ed from the office of State Senator Katherine Clark:

This Sunday we will mark the tenth anniversary of the devastating attacks of September 11, 2001.  As we do, we will remember the shock, anguish and uncertainty of that tragic day.  Those in this community who lost family members and dear friends had their lives irreparably altered in an instant.  We all shared their sadness and grieved for the thousands of Americans killed or injured. We watched the selfless acts of heroism of first responders and everyday citizens.  Collectively, we felt a profound sense of injustice and insecurity.

But that wasn’t all we felt. In the weeks and months after the attacks, we experienced a national wave of patriotism, resolve, and even hope.  We pulled together to volunteer, raise money, and support each other.  I witnessed countless acts of compassion and giving from every corner of our community – our families, our school children, our houses of worship and our civic organizations. Together we embraced one of the most fundamental tenets of a successful democracy: that our neighbor’s well-being is as vital as our own.

As we now acknowledge this somber anniversary, I hope we will remember that spirit and challenge ourselves to support community over divisiveness.  To be sure, Massachusetts residents have confronted tremendous difficulties in the past decade.

The courageous men and women of our military have valiantly fought two long, difficult wars, and many have come home injured or not returned at all.   Their families have sacrificed and endured so much.   At the same time, the continued aftermath of the housing crisis and recession have put enormous strain on our families and increased the vulnerability of too many throughout this state and in this district.   

We had every reason to turn inward after that tragic day ten years ago. But we didn’t.  Our shared challenges now provide even more reasons to come together to build communities that are less fractured and a political climate that is less divisive.  

Our ability to do that will represent the true legacy of September 11th.  I believe that we can work together to build communities in this Commonwealth that protect and educate every child, that encourage economic opportunity and support working families, that provide for our troops, our military families and our veterans, that honor our commitments to our seniors, and that look on our most vulnerable citizens not as a burden but as people of value who deserve our respect even when they are in need.

Just recently, the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial opened in Washington, DC. One of the quotes etched on the memorial wall is from Dr. King’s famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and reads: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”  Those words are very much alive today.

We must – and always will – honor the memory of the loved ones we lost on 9/11/01 and in its aftermath. As we do, we have the ability to ensure that the legacy of September 11th is a better, safer, more compassionate, more just and more equal American community.