September 12, 2001 — I’d Like to Recapture the Essence of That Day

Today is Election day. November 3, 2020, is being called the most important, most volatile, and most bizarre election in history.

A conversation with a friend last night sparked an idea. What if we could recapture the feeling we had on September 12, 2001?

The terrorist attack carried out against the United States on September 11, 2001, was the deadliest in history. September 11 was -- and hopefully will always be -- the darkest day in American History.

When we awoke on Wednesday, September 12, 2001, it was a new day. Certainly, there were still many tears to be shed, there was still so much for all of us to process, and it would take months for the images to stop playing in our heads and on our TV screens on a daily basis. But on that day, we all seemed to stand up and look in the same direction. We stood together as Americans.

September 12, 2001, wasn't a day to be a Republican or a Democrat. It was a day to be an American. Regardless of our political beliefs or affiliations, the common thought that rippled through the United States was, "How dare those bastards attack my country and our people?"

We lost 2,977 lives on 9/11. In yet another year we'll never forget, he coronavirus pandemic has claimed over 230,000 American lives and many more around the world. There are predictions that the death toll in the US could top 300,000 by the end of the year. That's 100 times the deaths we saw on that historically dark day in 2001.

Election Day and this entire election cycle has been divisive for so many. Friends have been "unfriended" online and in real life. Families have put up walls to shut out certain family members who don't think the same way they do. We've lost so much since we stood together on September 12, 2001.

On January 20, 2021, one of two men will be inaugurated as the President of the United States of America. As of this writing, we don't know which man it will be.

Regardless of what happens today or the results we see over the next few days, the sun will continue to rise in the east. We'll continue to wake up to the same worries and struggles that we did yesterday. We'll also wake up with the chance to enjoy the same joys that life has brought us in the past.

Today is an opportunity to stand up and all look in the same direction, much like we did on September 12, 2001.