remember, remember the 'leventh o' september

Okay, that was a lame take on the "remember, remember the fifth of november," but, hey, I'm going on about....five and a half hours of sleep.

Eight years ago today, I was only a fourth grader, thoroughly confused as to why everyone was suddenly going home. Many rumors were spread-we had a bomb threat, someone killed someone- no one quite understood or knew what had happened at the same time we entered into our "morning meeting."
It still makes me sad to think of all the hatred that had to have gone into those men taking over planes and killing thousands upon thousands of innocent souls. It makes me frustrated to know that we could have prevented this.
But I won't focus on the negative emotions, and I won't drag you all through a sad, sad day again. I want to focus on the positives that came out of 9/11. Because, despite all the horror and grief, there was a silver lining to this thunder cloud.
America became more aware. It became closer. It seems lately, we've forgotten about that closeness, that sympathy, that empathy. Americans looked to each other for strength. Complete strangers were kind to each other, returning dropped wallets, helping with things. In the aftermath of such a terrorist attack, we turned to each other and for once America was truly, truly united.

So, my American friends (no, I take that back. To all my global friends), I beg of you to remember the closeness we had after these terrible attacks. Remember the kindness and compassion, and let's not let things like politics, religious beliefs, and prejudice keep us apart. Now, in this awful recession and this "war on terror," etc, etc, we need to understand each other. We need to see each other as human beings with feelings, with hopes and dreams and fears.
Let's not ever, ever allow another 9/11 to happen again. And not because we upped security or buckled down on protection. But because we learned to see past the cloud of differences and learned to love and respect each other.

"It's a turf war
On a global scale
I'd rather hear both sides of the tale
See, it's not about races
Just places, faces
Where your blood comes from
Is where your space is
I've seen the bright get duller
I'm not going to spend
My life being a color"
-Black & White

{sources: 1, 2}