Remembering What Happened

At first we didn’t know what to call it, so we called it what happened. “Do you believe what happened?” “They think he died in what happened.” It was weeks before we called it 9/11. Sometimes tragedy takes time to find a name.
Peggy Noonan in “We’ll Never Get Over It, Nor Should We“

I apologize for this detour from my usual exploration of entrepreneurial issues, but this anniversary of my complete confusion on 9/11/2001 is one that I continue to observe: still attempting a decade later to make sense of it.

One thing I was certain of was that we would be attacked again, and more than once.

“The first mission of the war that followed 9/11 was to prevent any further attacks. That mission was accomplished. That is a fact often forgotten.”
George Friedman “9/11 and the Successful War“

Some very serious people, many of them no doubt quite young, must have been working hard to forestall further attacks.

“Ultimately, there are three lessons of the last decade that I think are important. The first is the tremendous success the United States has had in achieving its primary goal — blocking attacks on the homeland. The second is that campaigns of dubious worth are inevitable in war, and particularly in one as ambiguous as this war has been. Finally, all wars end, and the idea of an interminable war dominating American foreign policy and pushing all other considerations to the side is not what is going to happen.”
George Friedman “9/11 and the Successful War“

That’s something I will reflect on today as I give thanks for things turning out much better than I would have ever anticipated. And I will take time to remember the sacrifices of so many on that day.

“Three hundred forty-three firemen gave their lives that day. Three hundred forty-three! It was impossible, like everything else.

Many heartbreaking things happened after 9/11 and maybe the worst is that there’s no heroic statue to them, no big marking of what they were and what they gave, at the new World Trade Center memorial.

But New York will never get over what they did. They live in a lot of hearts.

They tell us to get over it, they say to move on, and they mean it well: We can’t bring an air of tragedy into the future. But I will never get over it. To get over it is to get over the guy who stayed behind on a high floor with his friend who was in a wheelchair. To get over it is to get over the woman by herself with the sign in the darkness: “America You Are Not Alone.” To get over it is to get over the guys who ran into the fire and not away from the fire.

You’ve got to be loyal to pain sometimes to be loyal to the glory that came out of it.”
Peggy Noonan in “We’ll Never Get Over It, Nor Should We“

• Take a Moment to Recall 8 Years Ago
• Lesser Sons of Greater Fathers
• Take a Moment to Recall 9 Years Ago