We rose from Sept. 11 wreckage unafraid and unbowed

Eighty-five years ago, as the smoke still smoldered from Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared Dec. 7, 1941, as "A date which will live in infamy" Nearly 2,400 American service members and civilians died that day. There are many dates etched into our hearts and history: July 4, 1776. April 15, 1865. June 6, 1944. Nov. 22, 1963. April 4, 1968. Jan. 28, 1986. Jan. 6, 2021. It seems almost impossible that 25 years have passed since the unthinkable broke through a sunny September morning and upended everything we thought we understood about our place in the world. Because we are the most powerful nation on earth — and still are — we had a presumption of invincibility. That no one would dare, a belief that was shattered in just two hours. You most certainly remember exactly where you were when the news broke on Sept. 11, 2001. You might recall every detail about that day. I know I do, even down to what I was wearing, because I haven't worn it since. It's often said that time is a healer, but it's also a thief. The passage of time has never diminished the breathtaking scale of death and loss. It assaulted our deeply rooted belief that innocent people are never fair game. The attackers knew this about us and tried to use it against us. People who lost friends, co-workers and loved ones that day remain haunted. Families have had to navigate through life with an empty place at the table and a nagging question that may never be answered to their satisfaction: Why? The subsequent chaos loomed over every community in the country, including our own. We lost three Stark Countians on that day, and subsequently several more who died serving in the war in Iraq. No plaques or commemorations can ever compensate for their loss. Some people have expressed fear that the memory and impact of Sept. 11 have been diminished, but that isn't true. It's just that a tragedy of such scale often forces us to approach life in smaller pieces, as in "before" and "after" when a life-altering event occurs. Just like a river, the passage of time carries us all further away from a moment, but Sept. 11 will continue to live as long as we do. If there is any mercy to found, it is that social media was not yet as vitriolic in 2001 as it is today. There was no such thing as artificial intelligence to pervert the facts, which was that 2,977 innocent Americans were murdered by fanatics who twisted and blasphemed the very definition of religion. In the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11, we were singular in our outrage and determination to make the perpetrators answer for their unspeakable crime. The killing of Osama bin Laden 10 years later was a measure of justice, but it will never wash away the hurt or erase the memory of that Tuesday morning. If there are any regrets to be had, it is that our indivisibility did not stick. It has been tattered and torn, which makes us vulnerable. We seem more divided than ever, thanks in large part to the misuse of social media and cynical people who manipulate and monetize our acrimony. Yet there is space for gratitude. The 19 men who attacked us failed in their ultimate mission. They foolishly assumed that people who enjoy so much freedom, must also be feckless. Yes, we were battered but most certainly not broken. We remain resolute in our identity as a free people. We rose from the wreckage of Sept. 11 unafraid and unbowed. Because freedom is fragile, we must continue to be vigilant and defend it against all enemies, foreign and domestic because liberty is foundational in what it means to be American. True freedom cannot be bartered, it cannot be bought. It is priceless because of its limitless possibilities. In the words of the great Thomas Paine, it gives us the power to make the world again. The best way we can do that is to honor those who died on Sept. 11 by becoming a country worthy of them, and a living monument to their unfulfilled dreams. Charita M. Goshay is a Canton Repository staff writer and member of the editorial board. Reach her at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com. On Twitter: @cgoshayREP