Lead by example as we continue to rebuild
Twenty years ago, the United States of America experienced the worst terrorist attacks on our soil. In the aftermath, we underwent our last moment of true national unity.
The American people must never succumb to the cynical proposition that we are condemned to assume complicity in atrocities, watch thousands die and endure heartbreaking tragedy to come together. Instead, we must recognize and respond to tyranny when this evil rears its ugly head.
By harnessing the heart of history, we can reject appeasement of authoritarians, retaliate against religious radicals and circumvent conflict. Once we do so, we can finally cultivate a world order that maintains self-determination for all races, ethnicities and nationalities and one that ensures the principles of equity, justice and liberty be applied in the mechanisms of our governing institutions and daily lives.
Today, we must honor the innocent victims of the Sept. 11 attacks by initiating a complete revamp of our policy approaches. We must ditch weakness and embrace strength through a virtues-based model of ethical, political and economic decision-making.
Our lawmakers should lead by example at home through rebuilding our cyber, physical and human infrastructure, investing in education and military defense and ending the era of pernicious political polarization which tears at the fabric of our democratic republic.
If we are to advance our groundbreaking American Experiment, we ought to regain touch with reality and understand that our way of life remains under siege despite the passage of two decades since Sept. 11, 2001.
American hegemony, international governing bodies and world peace are threatened by the depredations of dictatorship, the anarchic attacks of evil extremists and the brutality of barbarians acting in state and non-state capacities.
My heart and soul ache for the 2,977 victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, the families and friends of the fallen, the fatalities and injuries of servicemen and women in Iraq and Afghanistan and the 13 fallen Marines in Kabul last month.
May we act in the name of every martyr for liberty.
Most crucially, let us garner the intestinal fortitude and defend the children who deserve to inherit a free, prosperous and beautiful world.
Henry J.H. Wilson
Barrington