Let Us Never Forget

I have just returned from seeing the film, "United 93." I cannot truly desribe in words the overwhelming combination of emotions I felt during the film and which I still feel now. The film was a poignant reminder of what transpired on September 11th.

Coming from this film, I feel immense sorrow. This sorrow mostly stems from my sense of helplessness. The passengers of Flight 93 are truly heroes, in every sense of the word. These passengers were sincerely terrified, knowing they would most likely die. I have no idea what I would do in similar circumstances. But these heroes rose to the occasion, and they courageously fought to take back the plane and selflessly save the lives of others.

The actions of these passengers is a testament to the human spirit. This spirit proves that when tested by fear, humanity will not shrink into cowardice. Instead, we will fight with everything we can muster to serve others, even if they are strangers.

The passengers on this plane did not know one another, but they united in a way that demonstrates the beauty of the human spirit. They did not sign up to defend life and liberty, but these men and women are as brave, as compassionate, as sincere, and as honorable as every soldier who died in Normandy. We should be enormously proud of what they did.

After seeing this film, I am reminded of the call to duty with which each of us is charged. The greatest memorial we can erect to celebrate the lives of these heroes is to constantly stand up to great challenges, to be courageous in our lives, to always tell the one we love just how much we love them, to be better people by serving strangers and helping those in our community, to learn from one another and open a dialogue with the world so that nothing like this can ever happen again.

I am reminded that I must dedicate my life to public service, to foster a world where peace and love are our highest ideals, where our children feel no fear, where everyday heroes are celebrated not just by our quiet respect, but by our certain purpose to better the lives of our fellow man.

We each have a duty to those that lost their lives on that tragic day to never forget who they were, what they did, and why they did it. These ordinary people sacrificed themselves to save the lives of others. I could not be more proud of humanity than I am after seeing the courage of these wonderful people.

I hope that in the future we come together as a world and realize that we are all better off when we love one another. Division can no longer be a fact of our lives. Though we should be enormously proud of our country, we are not just Americans anymore. We are citizens of the world, and our measure as a people must be our willingness to come together and work towards a better future. Let us each be heroes every day of our lives, and let us never forget.