Never forget. Every time I see or hear that it pisses me off. I didn't know why util today. As I took my walk this morning, enjoying the weather that is eerily similar to this same date 9 years ago, I finally understood.

Forget what? Forget that a power crazed pyschopath orchestrated a mass murder of almost 3,000 Americans in one day in such spectacular fashion? Forget the sight of the symbol of US financial power slowly sinking into an awful cloud of dust? Forget the sight of people choosing to meet death on their own terms, with fresh air in their lungs, rather than be incinerated by burning avaition fuel? Forget the smoldering, gaping hole in the symbol of national defense? Only an alzheimer patient could forget that. Even then I'm sure the memory remains. No, nobody can forget the events of this date nine years ago. It's absurd and thoughtless.

We have forgotten something though. We've forgotten how we felt on this date nine years ago. There was a national sense of unity that only an enormous tragedy could produce. We helped each other. We were decent to each other. We cared about each other. A flag flew over almost every front door. I remember calling the Highlands, NJ police to offer to give rides home to evacuees from Manhattan. The dispatcher took my number and asked me to stay home unless they called me. There were already far more rides than riders. Everyone wanted to help. Petty differences and bigotry seemed to disappear for a while. People understood that this idea of America was bigger than any one of us. People believed in selflessness that is usually reserved for the soldier or public servant. There beneath the spooky, quiet sky, we really were one nation under God.

It was a lesson the terrorists never intended nor could have forseen. I was never more proud to be an American than in those darks weeks following 9/11. While we are all busy "not forgetting" today, let's remember more than just the horror. We owe at least that to those who had their lives snatched away that day.

Another thing we should do while we are not forgetting is think. The events of 9/11 weren't about religion, extremist or otherwise. It was about power. Power sought by psychopaths who only use religion to build a fantasy of justification for their blood lust. Burning the Quaran or protesting the building of a mosque only fuels their fantasy. It's exactly what they want. Don't give it to them. We all need to think before we act.