Remembering The Heroes of September 11th

Today we remember the 403 police officers, firefighters, paramedics and port authority officers who died while rushing into a hellish situation to save complete strangers on September 11, 2001. Despite their best efforts, thousands died that day.

The courage demonstrated by those who selflessly raced toward what some of them had to know would be their final act on earth cannot be forgotten. Their heroism is to be honored as is the the courage demonstrated by legions of men and women from across this nation who signed up to serve in the military to protect The United States from similar attacks in the future. All those heroes should be remembered with complete gratitude, just as we should remember the innocent lives lost on that Tuesday morning twenty-two years ago.

For those who remember that day, you probably also remember how - despite the tragedy - our nation came together. There wasn't just a sense of unity, there was actual unity. People put differences aside, realizing in the grand scheme of things, they were generally petty differences. There was a groundswell of pride in our nation and a concerted effort to support one another for a common cause; freedom and patriotism.

In many ways, that spirit has unfortunately faded with the passage of time. However, the ability to become more unified lies within us and we don't (and shouldn't) need a horrific terrorist attack to re-generate it. We have the ability to bring that back. We have the ability to be eager to help and support others and to be slow to criticize. We have the ability, today - even if it's just for today - to demonstrate some extra patience with others. We have the ability to go a little out of our way to help someone else, to just be kind, if even just for one day.

Who knows, we may remember that treating others - even those we disagree with - with respect and kindness isn't all that difficult and even brings some peace to our own lives. We may just find that we can do the same thing tomorrow, and the day after that. Before we know it, our community will become even stronger, which would be an incredible way to honor those we remember on this day, National Patriot Day.

Stay safe and God Bless,
Sheriff David M. Groves