By: centraljersey.com
There was a moment nine years ago when it appeared that partisan bickering and divisiveness had gone out of style.
That moment came in the days and weeks following the worst terrorist attacks to strike American soil in the nation’s history.
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers flew two planes into the World Trade Center, causing the skyscrapers to collapse and kill nearly 3,000 people. A third plane crashed into the Pentagon and a fourth, believed to be heading for the White House, was taken down by passengers in western Pennsylvania.
That morning continues to live in the memory of most Americans and continues to affect the way we live our lives. We face heightened security at airports, are funding two foreign wars and an expanded intelligence service – costs that have helped drive up the national debt and have made it difficult to pay for the kind of fiscal stimulus that appears necessary to begin rebuilding our economy.
At the same time, the unity that arose in the wake of the attacks has given way to an even deeper level of distrust and division that not only is infecting our politics, but our efforts at racial and religious tolerance, as well.
On Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the attacks, we should take a moment and remember that fleeting sense of civility and unity.
Residents can join Somerset County’s memorial of those killed on Sept. 11 when the board of freeholders, led by Freeholder Director Jack M. Ciattarelli, place a wreath at the 9/11 memorial at the corner of Main and Bridge streets in Somerville at 8:46 a.m. Saturday – marking the time the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center.
The ceremony will conclude with a brief bell-tolling to signify the four sites that were struck by passenger jets on Sept. 11 – the World Trade Center north and south towers, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pa. in Somerset County, Pa.
Residents can also participate in the memorial service held annually at Hillsborough Volunteer Fire Company No. 2, on Route 206. The service begins at the same time as the county’s, and includes a reading of the names of the fire fighters and police who were killed in the attacks on the WTC.
We may not be able to bridge the partisan divides, but we can acknowledge our common humanity and remember the nearly 3,000 men and women of all races and religious groups who died that on that sunny New York morning.
