What Is The Best Way To Remember 11 Sept 2001? Asking For A Friend!” – Frank A Hilario

I have always lived in the Philippines – am I too far away from New York City to care about what happened to the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers on 11 Sept 2001? Asking for a friend!

Today, Sunday, 11 Sept 2022, I opened my Lenovo ThinkPad laptop and typed “Sept 11” exactly like that, pressed Enter, Google Chrome announced onscreen: “About 23,300,000 results.” 23 million mentions – so how to digest all that?!

First, I had to browse – fast. Along the way, I decided to look for what lesson(s) did we learn from the Sept 11 terrible Islamic terrorist attacks on the United States of America, the world’s symbol of democracy. Here are my picks:

Wikipedia says:

The September 11 attacks… were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by the Islamic extremist network al-Qaeda against the United States. Number of deaths: 2,996. Date: 11 Sept 2001, at 8:15 PM GMT+8. Attack types: Aircraft hijacking mid-flight & ramming against the World Trade Center [New York City] and Pentagon [Arlington, Virginia].

Kathryn Sikkink, 01 Nov 2001, items.ssrc.org):
The enormity of the loss of life and the premeditated nature of the attacks on September 11th justify calling them “a crime against humanity.”
(“Never forget” image, fineartamerica.com)

Marc Tessier Lavigne (10 Sept 2021, Stanford Report, news.stanford.edu):
Sept 11 ushered in a new sense of national vulnerability and brought into sharp relief the importance of safeguarding America’s democratic values, our freedoms as citizens… and our pluralistic society…

Gene Block, UCLA Chancellor (10 Sept 2021, Newsroom, UCLA, newsroom.ucla.edu):

I hope that we can find within ourselves some of the courage, compassion and selflessness that [shone] so brightly in the wake of the terrorist attacks 20 years ago.

Thomas Schwartz, Professor of History (09 Sept 2011, Vanderbilt View, news.vanderbilt.edu):
The terrorists did achieve a major victory by destroying that symbol of American capitalism [World Trade Center]. They murdered almost 3,000 people and stunned the United States. That was quite an achievement, as awful as it was.

Editorial, The Intelligencer (10 Sept 2022, theintelligencer.net):
Ensuring the horror of that day is never forgotten is a mission a few local groups have continued under the leadership of Rabbi Joshua Lief of Temple Shalom. The annual observance to push memories of the day back to the forefront of our thoughts while also promoting a spirit of purpose and unity…

Lauron H Hublin (11 Sept 2021, Barron’s, barrons.com):
We were united by challenging circumstances… Looking out for one another and serving our readers honestly seemed like the best revenge. It still does.

Emma Widmar (09 Sept 2022, Racine County Eye, racinecountyeye.com):
“Remember the Sky,” an active remembrance event. The goal of the event is to help people “recognize how we are all connected to one another underneath the same big sky.”

Tamela Baker (The Herald-Mail, heraldmailmedia.com):
The best way to remember Sept 11: Try a little kindness.
(“kindness” image, Laurel Selby, linkedin.com)

And the best lesson for us today about Climate Change? “Try a little kindness to the soil – avoid chemicals!”@517