Reflections on Historical Moments

The recent passing of Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong and the eleventh anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks this Tuesday provide the opportunity to pause and reflect. Armstrong, of course, was the first person to walk on the moon. In July 1969, the landing on the moon captured the attention of the United States, if not the world. People sat riveted in front of their televisions. My family's attention was divided as my mother also was about to give birth. Decades before Facebook and Twitter, the moon landing was very much a social community event on a national and global scale. My grandparents lived in the same building in Brooklyn, so we watched with them. It was a time for family, and a time in which the nation came together.

Just over three decades later, on September 11, 2001, the nation once again came together. In many ways, the horrors of the terrorist attacks brought the American people together as a single community, and in other ways felt deeply personal as well. It did not matter what your background was, who you voted for, what your beliefs were, the people who were killed or injured cut across the beautiful fabric that makes up the United States. On that horrific day, I remember working in Newark, maybe 10 miles or so west of the World Trade Center. As I was driving east on I-280, I remember hearing the first reports of a plane crash before 9:00 a.m., then seeing the billowing smoke from the top of one of the towers. I remember parking on the upper levels of an office garage and seeing straight across toward lower Manhattan. I remember sitting in my cubicle and contacting my family, realizing that communication might be lost at any moment -- leaving a message for my wife where she was teaching, not being sure how much the schools were aware of the day's events; leaving a message with my in-laws in case my wife got through to them and not to me. I remember calling my mother on Staten Island - the direction in which the smoke was billowing - then realizing that instead of hanging up I should do a conference call with my brothers (one who lived in Manhattan at the time, another who often was in the City, and a third from Boston, from which two of the planes originated). I also remember driving home early that day and avoiding a drawbridge I would usually drive on, not being sure of what other targets there might be. I also remember the weather that Tuesday being particularly nice - beautifully clear and pleasant. 

This week, the anniversary of 9-11 also falls on what is predicted to be a beautiful Tuesday. We must always remember the sadness and the tragedy of the day - the people who worked there, the tourists who were visiting, the emergency services personnel who gave their lives to rescue others, the countless volunteers who helped regardless of the risks to their own health and safety. In the fall of 2000, I lost my father after a series of health battles. I couldn't help but think that he probably would have organized a blood drive had he been alive on 9-11.

The skyline of Manhattan is changing now. From the New Jersey side, you can clearly see the rebirth a bit over a decade later. Let us honor all by remembering the tragedy and remembering what makes us strong. Whether you support the Obama-Biden or Romney-Ryan ticket, let us remember what a privilege it is to live in this great democracy and to be able to vote for the candidates of our choice. Let us remember that our differences can either pull us apart or make us stronger. The landing on the moon in 1969 and the terrorist attacks in 2001 brought together the nation in different ways. That is something worth remembering and upon which to build.

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