If there is something I constantly struggle internally about is how to teach my son tolerance. Today of all days is when I think of it the most. Today marks the 9th anniversary of what we now call the 9/11 terrorist attacks. I don't know where to start and how to go about anything related to this subject. I want my son to love his country, respect all the people that live in this generous country of ours and I want him to not be afraid. If you ask me it is a monumental task considering the environment in which we live today.
There is no denying that everything has changed since that day, nothing will be the same and no matter how many years go by for those who were alive during that day, they will always remember where they were, what they were doing, the smells and the noises. It is a day that will forever remain tattooed in our collective physique.
I remember I received a phone call that woke me from a dead sleep and that for the following 6 hours I would experience a fear that I never want to live through again. You see, my brother and my dad were in NY and they had told us that prior Sunday that they would be going to the Twin Towers on Monday or Tuesday. They never gave us an exact day and for the next 6 hours we tried to communicate with them unsuccessfully. Thankfully, both my brother and dad were OK, they went on Monday. That does not escape the fact that so many lives were lost that day, so many lives were changed that day. And whether we like it or not our beliefs, and attitudes towards others have forever changed. We have become less trusting, intolerant and sometimes unforgiving, but can you blame us, we still hurt, we still remember as it were yesterday. How long will it take? I can't answer that. But what I can do is teach my son not to take anything for granted, liberty, our way of life, change, tolerance, forgiveness and compassion. I want to thank the men and women that fight and protect our country, that their sacrifice does not go unrecognized.
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