Don’t Forget Patriot Day
In a 1966 speech, Robert F. Kennedy referred to an ancient curse. Loosely translated it went something like: “may you live in interesting times.” The speech may have been in the 1960’s, but it feels like Kennedy could have been talking about 2020 just as easily. It’s been an ‘interesting’ year. In all the fervor about Covid-19 and the summer’s protests, it’s easy to forget that it’s not the first time our country has been through tumultuous times.
On Tuesday, September 11th, 2001 America suffered an unprecedented terrorist attack and our lives changed irrevocably. Talk to anyone old enough to remember and most of them will be able to tell you where they were on that day. The extra paperwork we have to go through to complete many business transactions and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security are just a few of the legacies of the day that’s simply become known as 9-11 or Patriot Day.
This year will mark the nineteenth anniversary of those events in New York, DC, and in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. It’s important that we don’t forget. A simple, easy way is to take a moment of silence for the nearly three-thousand souls that perished that day. And if you have a flag, be sure to fly it at half-mast that day.
And if you feel like getting out and about, there’s an even better way, because Patriot Day isn’t just a time to remember. It’s also a National Day of Service. Do something for others in a way that’s meaningful to you. Help a neighbor, feed the homeless or donate blood. The possibilities are limitless.
When we help others, we do our part to make our communities and our country stronger. What could be more patriotic than that?