Today is the 14th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

There are many days in American history that have redefined the nation and have altered the course of its history.  Some are wonderful: the moon landing, the election of our first black president, the abolition of slavery, the declaration of so many rights for women and minorities, and so on.  Some are horrible: the attacks on Pearl Harbor, the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, and Kennedy, the creation of the Japanese internment camps and Jewish ghettos, the establishment of slavery, among others.

The main difference between September 11 and those other historical moments is that it happened during the lifetime of most living Americans.  It feels like it happened only a few years ago and that we, as a nation, are still in the process of recovering from it. The wounds are still open.

September 11 has become the one day of the year that the majority of Americans, especially in the tri-state area surrounding New York, finally come together and agree on something: Never Forget.  We think back to the images that were burned into our brains as the flames rose from the buildings, we think about the loved ones who are no longer here, we lament the care-free days from before the attacks. On the other days of the year (especially in proximity to presidential elections), liberals and conservatives are flinging verbal grenades at each other, tearing apart the foundations of each other's deeply held belief systems and dismissing them as asinine or arbitrary. We can't seem to find common ground, even on things for which there is empirical evidence or established traditional truths.

But, I'm not saying this is a bad thing. We live in a post-September 11 world wherein we still have the freedom of expression; the freedom of dissent.  We live in a world where the Supreme Court rules that love wins, and that people like Kim Davis are able to rail against those rulings (fortunately to the consequence of jail time in that case).  We have the freedom to disagree, to open conversations that are, albeit uncomfortable, usually productive to our political belief system.

To anyone who knows me, it's no secret that I would never support anyone denying rights to any human.  I've spent much of my post-September 11 life developing strong political views that essentially come down to a person's right to make a decision for him or herself without being subject to anyone else's imposing moral compass.  There are plenty of things I would personally never choose to do, but I vote to legalize those things because, baring someone doing harm to another human life, I don't feel that my personal opinions should have any influence on the outcome of another person's life.  I would never assume that I know all the that facts that inform someone else's decisions, and therefore I cannot make those decisions. I do, however, respect the hell out of people for being brave enough to stand up and decide those things if that is what is best for them.

I also respect the hell out of the system that we still hold near and dear to our American hearts that allows us to debate these controversial issues.  I am not the only person who has ever had a knee-jerk reaction of "that is so wrong!" before I stop to consider perspectives outside of my own, and I think that's okay.  As long as I keep the "that is so wrong" directed only to my personal choices and leave my judgement out of another person's choices, it's okay.  And maybe someday my life will change and I may choose that "wrong" thing - who knows what will happen?

Our skyline may have changed, but our American values haven't.  September 11 was one of the most horrible days that has happened in American history.  Everyone I know who was alive at the time has what is called a "flash bulb" memory of it: it's as if someone took a picture of your life the instant the towers were hit and we can remember exactly where we were, what we were doing, and how we reacted. It is important that we Never Forget.  It is also important that we take pride in ourselves as a nation for rising above, for recovering, and for retaining the simple freedoms on which our country was founded.  Never Forget, and never stop fighting.