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THE TIES THAT BIND
On a bright Tuesday
morning in September unfathomable evil descended from the skies over New
York and Washington. Here, in our idyllic little community perched on the
edge of the Rockies, we sat in our homes and offices watching horrors
undreamed enfold on flickering screens, numb with heartache.
In subsequent days,
countless commentators and writers have told us that these tragic events
have changed America forever. Yes, we have changed, if they mean the grief
that will remain with us for the rest of our days. Yes, September 11, 2001
will forever be stamped in the collective memory of this nation. But no,
the fundamental values of this most inclusive of nations have not changed.
Our actions on that Tuesday, and the days that have followed only reaffirm
them.
 We are the children of a
hundred nations. Our religious beliefs and practices encompass all the
faiths of the world. What binds us together are our most cherished values:
liberty, openness, tolerance, justice, equality, fairness and an unshakable
optimism in the potential of mankind. These hold steadfast for they
represent the truest spirit of the human heart.
Emergency services in our
community are staffed by volunteers. There was a special empathy as we
watched firefighters, emergency medical personnel, and police, rush into
harm's way to save others and perish as the walls came tumbling. There was
the spontaneous impulse to give, to help, from across the land. Countless
volunteers lined up for hours to donate blood. Elementary school children
in one of the poorest neighborhoods collected pennies for the bereaved. We
were, and are, one.
Other, older nations have
always chided us for being too idealistic, too naïve, for not understanding
the real world. We admit that we cannot understand the darkness in the
minds of those that perpetuated these atrocities. It is beyond our
reckoning. And if that makes us naïve, if that makes us idealistic, then we
proudly wear these labels.
We are far from perfect.
We have made many mistakes. Less than a century after its founding, this
nation fought a bloody fratricidal war to rectify a grievous wrong. But we
have developed the maturity and self-confidence to admit our mistakes.
Sometimes it takes us longer than it should, but, in the end, we strive to
do the right thing. Our shared values leave us no other option.
Many may have seen the
stars and stripes draped over our community center. There is no jingoistic
intent in placing the flag there. It is there, brightly visible day and
night, emblematic of our bedrock values and the ties that bind us.
We have always cherished
our loved ones. But in our sadness our hearts are wide open as we embrace
our neighbors down the street, and all the residents of our community. We
do not stop there. We continue eastward across the high plains and rolling
prairies to the great cities of the Eastern seaboard. And westward, across
deserts and mountains, to the Pacific breakers.
Out of many, one.
Invincible.
from the Pine Brook Press, Autumn, 2001 |
