America Desperately Needs to Return to September 12, 2001

NEVER FORGET. It’s something we say about September 11, 2001 – right? And for those of us old enough to remember the Twin Towers falling, I don’t think we WILL ever forget.

On 9/11 every year, we honor the lives lost to the senseless violence unleashed on our country. Friends, fathers and mothers, doctors and lawyers, emergency responders and innocent bystanders were suddenly ripped from our lives. We went numb.

Not long ago, I gave a keynote speech in front of 2,000 high school students about patriotism in America. And while I was on stage, it hit me.

They have no memory of the 9/11 terror attacks.

But that’s not what I want to talk about today. I want to talk about September 12th, 2001.

Do you remember September 12? How you felt that day? The fire? The drive? The hurt … but also the unity? We woke up feeling whole. Together. Ready.

That’s what we want to – NEED TO – remember. Not the sucker punch – but the return to our feet – united, armed to fight evil together.

Countless men and women dropped out of school on that day and joined the military. We weren’t Democrats or Republicans …. Liberals or Conservatives. We were Americans. Flags lined the streets. The Freedom Bell started ringing again and the Statue of Liberty damn near cracked her foundation to lead us into battle.

We unleashed holy hell on our enemies and we let the world know that if you mess with the red, white and blue … we will annihilate you.

What happened to that America? The America that stood hand in hand ready to do anything to defend the nation that we love? Now, 17 years later we are at odds with our neighbors, our co-workers, our families … We label each other. We put false information online and spread hate in the streets.

The flag has somehow become a symbol of hatred. We’re removing statues from America that remind us of our history so that we don’t repeat it. We have groups that declare RESIST and promise to fight against and actively disrupt the very democracy that has made America great.

In the weeks and months following 9/11, people thanked police officers for their service to the communities. Now? They are convicted in the court of court of public opinion of crimes that include just being a cop.

I want to take America back to that moment, the moment we were ready to stand against any evil that tried to take us down. In that moment we weren’t black or white, straight or gay, conservative or liberal, man or woman. We were simply Americans. And now … 17 years later … somehow the biggest enemy we face… is ourselves.

The enemy is no longer just those hijacking planes. The enemy is wearing masks and causing violence and anarchy in the streets in the name of ANTIFA and BLM.

The enemy is assassinating our police officers. The enemy is putting illegals ahead of our homeless veterans. The enemy is calling MS13 “poor lost souls” while they terrorize our population and claim lives.

How do we fight for unity again? How do we overcome these graves threats that our democracy faces?

Perhaps the only way to do that is to make sure we never forget 9/11 … but fight together to return to 9/12.

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Kyle S. Reyes is the National Spokesman for Law Enforcement Today, founder of The Whiskey Patriots and Chief Executive Officer of The Silent Partner Marketing. Reyes is also an acclaimed keynote speaker on patriotism and leadership, entrepreneurship and marketing by storytelling. You can follow him on Facebook.