Sometimes as we are distanced from tragedy the memories dim somewhat. That's a normal human reaction, a way of dealing with pain and grief.
Now, nine years after that horrible day in September when we saw planes crash into buildings and thousands of people die, the images are not as crisp in my mind as they were a year or two years ago.
On one hand that is a good thing, as that deep ache I used to feel is not as heavy as it once was. But on the other hand, I want to cling to the feelings of intense patriotism that tragedy instilled in me and people all across the country. We were united in our anguish and our purpose.
And that is what I wish we all could focus on in these troubled economic and political times. United we can do great things. Divided we will fail. And we do not honor the memory of the dead by failing.
