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"Never forget."
What did we mean, when we declared as a country that we would forever remember the events and lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001?
What do those words mean to the people born afterward? They are Gen Z and Gen Alpha, now. All they know is what they read in history books, what they hear from us, and how they see the rest of us living after we declared we would forever honor the memory of those who died in attacks by a small band of religious extremist terrorists.
"The attacks of September 11th were intended to break our spirit. Instead, we have emerged stronger and more unified. We feel renewed devotion to the principles of political, economic and religious freedom, the rule of law and respect for human life. We are more determined than ever to live our lives in freedom."
That was former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, extolling what he rightly said at the time were the American virtues of unity; political, economic and religious freedom; and respect for other humans.
Are we living up to that now? Or have we forgotten?
Sandy Dahl, wife of Flight 93 pilot Jason Dahl, said "If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no time for hate."
No time for hate.
Have we forgotten?
Fifteen years ago, former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg said "good works and public service have taken root to honor those we loved and lost."
Have we forgotten?
A quarter century later, and just over 250 years since our founders signed a Declaration of Independence to proclaim "that ALL men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness;" and pledged "our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor" to fight for that cause, have we forgotten we swore never to become what our attackers said they believed we were?
Osama bin Laden hated us -- and 25 years ago killed nearly 3,000 of us -- because he believed we were infidels who were meddling in the Middle East. He and his extremist fringe of followers believed government should be based on strict religious law enforced through autocratic rule. He meant to destroy what our Constitution and Bill of Rights so thoroughly protect.
But he did not win. Not that day. Instead, we rallied around one another. We took care of one another. We moved forward as best we could without division and fear.
After all, there was no better way then to honor the lives of those who were sacrificed than to become the best version of ourselves. The same is true now.
THAT, we must, indeed, never forget.