What We Have Forgotten From 9/11

It’s been 25 years. Twenty-five years since planes were hijacked and crashed into symbols of America’s power and prosperity, killing over 3,000 of our fellow citizens, forever changing our nation and world.

That Tuesday morning, I was a junior in high school and what I remember most was how transfixed we all were watching the surreal scenes unfolding on TVs throughout our classrooms and hallways, with images of the Twin Towers on fire and masses of people running through the streets of New York in terror. It felt like a movie that couldn’t be real.

Yet it was a major turning point. There’s the world as it was before 9/11 that some of us remember, and there’s the world after 9/11, for which an entire generation has now grown into adulthood under its shadow.

Twenty-five years should hit us differently than just another anniversary of that infamous day, yet what’s truly sad and tragic is not just that horrible day but the way the lessons that we should have remembered have been forgotten.

Every anniversary of 9/11, scroll through our social media newsfeed and often you’ll find posts and images of the towers with the words “9/11” and “Never Forget.” In the years after Pearl Harbor, I imagine my grandfather’s generation said the same thing about that momentous and tragic day, but unfortunately, we tend to forget as our world moves on.

It is clear from how broken, polarized and divided our country is today in 2026 that we have indeed forgotten 9/11. To never forget is not just about observing a moment of silence or posting something on Facebook. It’s about remembering, reflecting and responding to what lessons emerged from the rubble of the towers, Pentagon and Flight 93.

There are two things I remember from the fall of 2001. The first is the shock and horror of that day and the second is the way we responded to it in the months after that day. We responded with love, unity, patriotism and an urgency to turn to God.

Visiting the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City a few years back, I remember one of the most moving exhibits that brought me to tears was hearing the voicemail recordings or messages of goodbye left by loved ones, family and friends who were on the hijacked planes. There are no voicemails left by anyone expressing hate or anger or discussing trivial matters. They were all messages of love.

Long before The Beatles said all we need is love, Jesus said it. The second greatest commandment given to us was to “love our neighbor as ourselves” (Matthew 22:39), and Jesus said the greatest evidence to the world that someone believes in and follows him is that they demonstrate genuine, sacrificial love.

Love is stronger than hate. Yet in the years since 9/11, our culture has come to view love as being conditional on agreeing with someone’s views and opinions. True Christian love, and American civic virtue, is expressed in being able to love someone while having different views and opinions on big issues or subjects. In 2026, we choose to remove, silence, block or unfriend others who believe, vote or live differently than we do.

Twenty-five years ago, I remember being taken aback with seeing Republicans and Democrats holding hands and standing shoulder-to-shoulder on the steps of Capitol Hill singing “God Bless America.” I remember seeing American flags everywhere and witnessing a wave of patriotism like I’ve never seen before or since spread throughout our nation as we came together as Americans, as one nation under God. We didn’t see each other as the enemy but instead were focused on defeating the enemy who attacked our country.

Sadly, today’s America reminds me of a “Twilight Zone” episode where extraterrestrials toyed with a suburban street called Maple Street, causing neighbors to turn on neighbors by making them see each other as the enemy. The pandemic and the years of the 2020s have only further widened the rift of polarization and division that now grips our country. In an age with more technology to communicate, we are losing the art of dialogue with one another. We have forgotten that being an American and loving our country and its ideals should come before our politics.

Finally, and most importantly, what I remember the most from 25 years ago was seeing churches packed, prayer services held at the National Cathedral led by the Rev. Billy Graham, and spiritual urgency. Our world has been shaken and shown to be vulnerable, and as human nature often does, when faced with a crisis, we look up. The problem is that when weeks turned to months without another terrorist attack, and our lives moved on with a new sense of normalcy, we lost the sense of urgency.

The truth is that every day could be our last, and it’s by divine providence that our nation has been spared another horrible terrorist attack. Yet the spiritual warning whenever a horrible crisis, attack or disaster unfolds is always the same: Are you ready? Are you ready to meet God? Do you know a savior named Jesus?

It’s been 25 years since that day that changed our country and the trajectory of the 21st century. In addition to remembering what happened and sharing a post on social media, do your part to reflect on the lessons from the weeks following that day, because we could surely use them in 2026.