Nearly Fifteen Years Later

These are words I wrote in the aftermath of September 11, 2001.

So much has happened since then.  There have been cataclysmic changes in the world.  We are no longer so shocked by random acts of terror.  We have grown accustomed to them.  And yet we have also lost that sense of cohesiveness that we once possessed.  See how much of it is still true today:

This has been a long week.   Minutes spent at the radio or in front of the television have been agonizing.  Waiting for the next report from the media about the latest body count, or who did it, or the American response to the terrorist invasion has made this week seem like one long slow-motion-replay.

And yet, while we have been waiting for new reports and illumination with our short breath, we have not been idle.  America is in motion.  We are gathering courage and force by sheer numbers.

If Dutchess County is an example of the tour de force across the country we have good reason to be proud.  There have been many calls for rallies, candle-light vigils, prayer meetings, invocations, words of hope and assurance across the broadest spectrum imaginable.  While the flags flying at half mast are continual reminders of our period of mourning, the people are galvanized as never before.

This past Wednesday evening the high school students at Arlington demanded something for their psychic needs and, with the assistance and imprimatur of the principal and school superintendent, they held a vigil and spoke and prayed words of peace.  They invited clergy members of all stripes to attend and use their varied faith systems to help all gather more courage.  The same thing happened in the Town of Wappingers.  The City of Poughkeepsie has also been gearing for the challenge.  I well suspect every institution had reacted swiftly to give both meaning and direction to the horror.  What is significant is that the groundswell is coming from the people themselves.  This is truly a grassroots movement. 

The same was true at the great rally in Hyde Park where I reckon at least two thousand people sang out words of belief in their country as they marched to the Town Hall.  I witnessed the same reaction at an impromptu gathering orchestrated by the County Executive in downtown Poughkeepsie two days after the Towers were obliterated.  Easily two hundred people cheered, along with great leaders of our community like Senator Saland and Charles North, cried and sang as people of faith gave their vision of how the all the survivors will find hope in the ashes of the World Trade Center.

Again, I heard the words of many clergy who used their considerable skills in an interfaith service initiated by the Dutchess Interfaith Council.   

All this does not even begin to address the churches, mosques and synagogues that are moving their members toward regaining our inner and collective strength.

If all these gatherings are any indication of our health as Americans, I do not think we could have reacted any better.  Even while mourning, we, as Americans, have much to be proud of.  I know I am every time I pass a car bearing the American flag.