Twenty-three years ago, the worst terrorist attack on American soil occurred. Like many people, I have vivid memories: Seeing the towers for the last time on September 10th while coming home from the rained out Yankees-Red Sox game, watching the horror unfold on the television in high school the following day, seeing the black smoke from my parents house in New Jersey, seeing all the missing persons posters, how quiet it was in the city for a long time after, but also how people came together as a country: in New York city, in communities across America and as a nation. I just started reading a book: "A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster" and there is a passage from a woman in her early twenties at the time waiting for hours on 9/11 to cross the Williamsburg Bridge by foot and describing the feeling on the street: "There was a sense on the street on September 11 of calm, of trusting in the people around you--kind of being impressed with how intelligently the people around you were handling the circumstances. There was camaraderie, no hysterics, no panic, you felt that people would come together. That's obviously what happened in the towers, there was a lot of heroism that day." People that day and in the following days, weeks, and months came together and took care of each other. I lived in Minot in 2011 during the worst flood in their history, which inundated the downtown and displaced nearly 30% of the city's population. Less than 2% of those displaced took refuge in the shelters, however, because Minotians opened their doors to friends, relatives, neighbors and strangers. This is an example of a resilient community. We all deserve to live in resilient communities and building such communities is complicated, but it is not possible without empathy. Communities, nations and humankind will be most resilient if we are able to recognize and act to alleviate human suffering in others. This is the only way we can grieve, heal and grow as a community, as a nation, and as a species when faced with adversity.
On 9-11, first responders and civilians risked their lives helping others and 343 brave firefighters and paramedics lost their lives that day. 2,605 Americans and 372 foreign nationals from 61 countries died in that horrendous attack. In these situations, these heroes did not question the race, gender, belief system, political party, citizenship of others, but sprang into action to help fellow human beings in danger. I'm saddened and angered when people in our community, nation, or planet are cavalier to the suffering of fellow human beings. Our fellow Great Ape species, the bonobo demonstrate a xenophilic nature that seems to be missing in so many members of our own species. Our democracy is undermined if the American ideals of equality, democracy and freedom are denied to any of our citizens. The xenophobic and racist speech of people in this country is despicable, inhuman and completely undermines our direction as a nation toward a more perfect union. The completely unfounded claim about immigrants in Springfield by Trump during the debate last night is baseless and fuels hate. His running-mate claimed that "Haitian illegal immigrants" are "draining social services and generally causing chaos" is untruthful, hateful, and racist. The Haitian community in Springfield is composed of legal migrants and naturalized US citizens. A Presidential candidate and Vice Presidential candidate are attempting to drum up fear and hate against fellow Americans. To not care about the suffering and loss that fellow human beings in Gaza, Haiti, El Salvador, and elsewhere around the world are navigating is so heartless. These are human beings who have been thrust into terrible situations outside of their control and who are trying to survive and rebuild a life for themselves and their families. If you cannot comprehend this and empathize with people, you aren't strengthening your community or country, but merely your own isolated existence.
We are a country of immigrants. The Statue of Liberty was gifted to the United States after the French writer and abolitionist Laboulaye proposed that the French recognize America for their friendship and the ideal of democracy. Today, the statue is synonymous with the America ideals of equality, democracy and freedom. The statue's often overlooked broken shackle honors the abolition of slavery. Ellis island opened as an immigration station six years after the dedication of the Statue of Liberty. It would be another eleven years before Emma Lazarus's famous poem "New Colossus" was added to the plaque on the base of the Statue. She wrote the poem as a donation for the Pedestal Fund for the Statue of Liberty in 1883, after her friend and fellow writer Constance Cary Harrison convinced her that the statue would be a symbol for immigrants coming into New York (then into Castle Garden). Lazarus aided Jewish refugees coming to New York fleeing antisemitic pogroms in Europe.
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door."
Today, far too many Americans forget these words, forget this message of empathy, ignore the plight of fellow Americans, refugees, migrants, immigrants and foreigners. Hate destroys communities and will ruin our country. Let's not forget 9-11. Let's not forget how we came together as a community. Let's not forget the ideals we uphold as Americans. Let's not forget all of those before us who have fought so bravely fighting for the rights of all our brothers and sisters in our country and around the world.
