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An old German proverb passed down from the far reaches of the ages says simply, “Necessity unites.” Necessity unites. It seems so common sense, but there’s more meaning to it than meets the eye.
Necessity unites. Hard times, tight budgets, little food, a poor economy, oppression from foreign governments - all these things have made it necessary for the people of this country to unite, both in the past and today.
Eight years ago, a stunning act by a group of terrorists made it necessary for Americans to once again prove that proverb correct… and that we did. As brothers and sisters, as friends, as communities, as villages, towns and cities; we united to prove to the world that we, America, would stand tall, even if the towers of numbers 1 and 2 World Trade Center did not.
The show of oneness in the weeks, months, and even the year passing after that terrible day astounds me to this day. Suddenly, divisions healed. Quarreling neighbors made truces. The citizens of our nation had an unspoken realization that, without a unity of purpose and singularity of mission, the terrorists who perpetrated these unspeakable acts would have achieved every goal they had set out for.
Mahatma Gandhi is quoted as saying “Unity, to be real, must stand the severest strain without breaking.” The events of September 11th, 2001, tested the unity of Americans, and I am proud to say that we have strained, but not broken.
We are here tonight for a few reason. The first is to mourn seven of our college alumni, as well as the office workers, fire fighters, police officers, and everyone who lost their lives on that tragic day. The second is to share in our loss, to know that our college community supports us in our lasting grief. But I think the most important reason that we are gathered here, right now, is to unite. It is not only proper, but necessary that we stand here with candle and bowed head to remember the lives of those who perished in the attacks. It is necessary that we never forget the sacrifice of the many emergency workers who knew they were risking their lives in order to save another. It is necessary that we remember the soldiers who have risked and even lost life and limb to keep our flame of freedom afire.
At the beginning of the first World War, Woodrow Wilson said that “We cannot be separated in interest or divided in purpose. We stand together until the end.”
We stand. We are not divided. It is necessary, and therefore, we unite.
Thank you.
Some short remarks I made at a 9/11 memorial ceremony today.
