Remember 9/11 Not Only for Those Who Died

Remember 9/11 not only for those who died, but also for those who suffered thereafter. Remember 9/11 not only as a dark day in history, but the beginning of dark days to come, days when we must work hard to catch upon our faces the scattered rays of sunshine strong enough to puncture the thick grey gloom above. Remember 9/11 as the day our rights ceased to be absolute in the face of insurmountable hate. Remember 9/11 as the day freedom staggered. Remember 9/11 not only for 2,752 that were buried in the rubble, but for the murders of dark skinned immigrants and the 1735 counts of racially motivated hate-crimes reported in the three months thereafter.

Remember 9/11 for Balbir Singh Sodhi, shot and killed in his own gas station in Mesa, Arizona. Remember Balbir because he was a respected family man. Remember 9/11 not only for the immediate victims at ground zero. Remember it for the victims that were 2000 miles away, boarding up their homes for fear of cold blooded murder as CNN reports yet another Muslim slaughtered. Remember this because it happened 60 years ago, after Pearl Harbor and before Hiroshima and before Nagasaki. Remember 9/11 because before this cold day in September, we thought ourselves infallible. Remember 9/11 not for the 21st century, but for all the 9/11s in the centuries before and all the Pearl Harbors in the centuries thereafter. Remember 9/11 because memories erode with time, and soon this will be just another historical tale of epic proportions, read by our children, told to their families, and whispered amongst us in the garden of our golden years. Remember 9/11 for the lesson and not the tragedy, for history is a waste if not learned from. Remember that skin color is not a preference. Remember the sweet taste of Freedom Fries.