Village Justice, Tom Liotti
The attack on the World Trade Center Twin Towers and the seven other buildings most directly affected by it, took our nation by surprise. Not since Pearl Harbor, 60 years earlier, had there been such an attack. Our nation’s mourning will never end. Our bereavement is more akin to an indelible post traumatic stress that will never go away.
No monument to the 3,000 innocent people murdered in that attack can in any way make up for the loss of a single life. The vivid images from that day are etched in our brains forever. The horror of that day is a constant in the lives of the families who lost their loved ones.
The 9/11 Museum and Memorial opened to the public in May 2014. While the Towers were described as the “Eighth Wonder Of The World,” the 9/11 Museum and Memorial must now bear that appellation. While I have not yet been privileged to see the pyramids or the Taj Mahal, it is impossible for me at least, to conceive of a greater engineering or architectural feat in the history of the world than the 9/11 Museum and Memorial.
I, and my wife, visited the museum and memorial recently on a guided tour. We were in awe and recommend to all that you visit the museum and memorial. While we can never recapture what we have lost, the site is a profound testament to the unparalleled bravery, courage and love displayed by so many in so many ways. It is also an emphatic statement about the resilience and spirit of our nation in rebuilding. It shows far more than bricks and mortar.
While 9/11 was a shock since then it has become apparent that the civilized world is at war with extremist groups and terrorists at home and abroad. While history tells us that religious wars may last more than a thousand years, we are confronted by ever escalating terrorism as well as risks to all. Every government and municipality, large or small, together with every person, must make anti-terrorism efforts their top priority. Each of us must address these issues every day. We must talk about it incessantly and develop plans as individuals and as communities to combat the threats and the realities of terrorism. Visit the 9/11 Museum and Memorial; it will sear these points into your way of life.
