I was not in New York City in 2001, nor did I lose anyone close to me that day. But I remember the fear and suffering of millions of Americans as we watched, eyes glued to the TV set, the atrocities that were committed on September 11th.
Ten years later, that sort of pain that wrenched our stomachs still produces a dull thud as we remember the loved ones we lost and the blow that shook us to our core. The safety of our homes and workplaces was gone in an instant and replaced with something no American had ever felt before.
But Americans are nothing if not fighters. We fought to become Americans and we fight everyday to keep our freedom alive, whether it's as soldiers in the Middle East or civil rights advocates fighting for gay marriage. The thing that unites us all is our appreciation of freedom and our willingness to fight for it. So today, remember that.
While there are people out there who want to harm us, and may do so again in the future, they cannot take away that vital component of what it means to be an American. Every one of us has gotten back up and continued to fight, to move forward, to prove to the world that this is the greatest country to live in, and we will do it a hundred times again if we have to. And in the end, we'll prevail, just as we have here.
In memory of the ten-year anniversary attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. This has been my spiel.
