Today, 20 years ago, the world as we knew it changed forever.

Because of the terror and the tragedy, a new fear was born, based primarily on assumptions and misinformation.

The loss of life, and the consequence of personal lives changed forever by the death of someone in the Towers, the Pentagon, and in a field in Pennsylvania cannot be understated. Every “9/11” anniversary is a stark reminder of the consequences of hate, fueled by fear, hurt, and anger.

We need only to look no further than ourselves, and our current reality, to see that hate and fear still (and always) has the ability to harden hearts to the point that one can say and do things that are beyond the innate goodness that resides in each one of us.

This blog is written by someone living in the United States, looking through that lens; we know, however, that the experience here is the same everywhere. “The other” doesn’t hold the market on acting out of fear and hurt and anger.

We have the opportunity to ask ourselves, on a personal level, what have I done or said out of fear, or hurt, or anger? How can I be reconciled to “the other”? What can I do to learn more about the “other” so that the stranger can become a friend? How can I enter into respectful conversation whenever I encounter hatred or anger spoken against someone else?

How can I make a difference?

Retrieved from https://www.ccvichapel.org/post/_9-11-1