The true meaning of ‘Never Forget’
“Never forget.”
What did we mean, when we declared as a country that we would forever remember the events and lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001?
What do those words mean to the people born afterward? All they know is what they read in history books, what they hear from us, and how they see the rest of us living after we declared we would forever honor the memory of those who died in those attacks.
“The attacks of September 11th were intended to break our spirit. Instead, we have emerged stronger and more unified. We feel renewed devotion to the principles of political, economic and religious freedom, the rule of law and respect for human life. We are more determined than ever to live our lives in freedom.”
That was former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, extolling what he rightly said at the time were the American virtues of unity; political, economic and religious freedom; and respect for other humans.
Are we living up to that now? Or have we forgotten?
Sandy Dahl, wife of Flight 93 pilot Jason Dahl, said “If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no time for hate.”
No time for hate.
Have we forgotten?
Fifteen years ago, former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg said “good works and public service have taken root to honor those we loved and lost.”
Have we forgotten?
Perhaps this is the part of “never forget” that matters most 25 years later. Remembering Sept. 11 cannot simply mean remembering where we were when the planes struck, replaying the images of the towers falling or reciting the names of those who died. Memory without meaning eventually becomes ceremony. If “never forget” is to endure, we have to remember not only what happened to America that day, but what Americans decided to be in the days that followed.
We were angry. We were frightened. We were grieving. But amid all of that, there also was an extraordinary instinct to reach for one another.
Firefighters and police officers ran toward danger. Strangers helped strangers down smoke-filled stairwells and through the streets of lower Manhattan. Passengers aboard Flight 93, knowing what awaited them, acted together to prevent an even greater tragedy. Across the country, people lined up to give blood, donated money, flew American flags and asked what they could do for someone else.
That spirit should be part of the inheritance we pass to generations who have no memory of Sept. 11. We should teach them that patriotism is more than a flag on the porch or a slogan repeated each September. It is a commitment to the ideals that flag represents — freedom of speech, freedom of religion, equal protection under the law, the peaceful transfer of power and the fundamental dignity of people with whom we may profoundly disagree.
Twenty-five years is long enough for memories to fade. It is not long enough for the lessons to do so. Nearly an entire generation has reached adulthood without remembering that September morning, and another is following behind it. What they understand about Sept. 11 — and about America’s response to it — increasingly will depend upon what we choose to teach them and, even more importantly, what they see us doing.
If we want them to understand what we meant when we said “never forget,” then we must show them.
A quarter century later, and just over 250 years since our founders signed a Declaration of Independence to proclaim “that ALL men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness;” and pledged “our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor” to fight for that cause, have we forgotten we swore never to become what our attackers said they believed we were?
Osama bin Laden hated us — and 25 years ago killed nearly 3,000 of us — because he believed we were infidels who were meddling in the Middle East. He and his extremist fringe of followers believed government should be based on strict religious law enforced through autocratic rule. He meant to destroy what our Constitution and Bill of Rights so thoroughly protect.
But he did not win. Not that day. Instead, we rallied around one another. We took care of one another. We moved forward as best we could without division and fear.
After all, there was no better way then to honor the lives of those who were sacrificed than to become the best version of ourselves. The same is true now.
That, we must, indeed, never forget.