11 reflections on 9/11: Sharon Stephens Brehm

In the hours, days, and weeks after the attacks of Sept. 11, there was a constant stream of references to the great change that had taken place. At work, at home, in informal settings and on formal occasions, one heard, "We're living in a new world now. Things will never be the same." For the victims and their families, as also for those who died or were seriously injured in military service and their families, there is no going back to the way things used to be. But for those of us in the United States who were not affected directly by the attacks and the war that followed, that sense of a turning point is not nearly so sharp as it used to be. Life, after all, goes on, things get done, people adjust. The impact of 9/11, once so powerful, becomes muted.\nThis is to be expected. We are an adaptable species. But it seems to me that, in this case, the veneer of normalcy is quite thin. We have not really adapted to the horrors of 9/11, nor even begun to understand their implications. Underneath that apparent "return to normalcy," we are stunned, bewildered, and frightened. I believe that this coming anniversary offers not only a time to mourn the human tragedy that took place last year, but also the possibility of grasping some kind of meaning that will help us find our way in the years to come.\nFor Abraham Lincoln, there was an intimate connection between loss and the renewal of one's moral commitment, and he articulated it with deep understanding and great simplicity in the Gettysburg Address: \n"It is rather for us, the living, we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that, from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here, gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve these dead shall not have died in vain; that the nation, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people by the people for the people, shall not perish from the earth." (Nicolay Draft)\nI am hopeful that the long-term impact of September 11 will be to pay tribute to the "honored dead" of our time with a stronger commitment to liberty, democracy, and human rights -- in this country and around the world.