Power of hope, national unity legacies of 9-11

It has been four years since that morning when Alaskans awoke to the terrible news from New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. It was a day that stunned and horrified a nation, and the images that emerged from the dust and destruction remain seared into our collective mind.

Each year we mark the day and have our community observances, remembering those whose lives were so senselessly lost and honoring those first responders whose heroic actions were so inspiring to a nation in mourning. It is sad that it took such a cataclysmic event to bring us together as Americans.

But it is sadder, still, how much we have drifted apart in four short years. Solidarity has been replaced by political divisiveness, and partisanship, so bitter and nasty, has perverted our sense of common purpose.

Where once there was civil discourse and polite debate over differences of opinion, now there is finger-pointing, name-calling and outright ostracism in some cases. The events and aftermath of Sept. 11 themselves have been co-opted and exploited for political gain, and anyone who dares to disagree with the prevailing political winds is questioned as unpatriotic.

Where would we be as a nation, as a democracy, if our founding fathers had meekly accepted the tyranny of King George III? Now, personal responsibility seems to be an abstract idea in a culture that feeds off the scapegoating mentality of the self-righteous windbags polluting the airwaves of talk radio and cable news.

Our war on terrorism has become increasingly ill-defined. Our constitutional rights have eroded in the name of national security. We are more suspicious of strangers and less tolerant of each other.

How has this happened? Is this really the kind of country we want for ourselves?

As we observe the anniversary of that difficult day, it is important to remember the sense of common purpose that all Americans shared then and in the days that followed. In sharing that common bond, we discovered much about ourselves. And for all the horror of the day's events, we found our own courage and resiliency in the face of unfathomable grief.

Today, as we remember the families of those who lost their lives, we also remember the transcendent power of the human spirit. It is our highest hope that the common humanity that binds us will always be stronger than the labels that divide us.