Remember

I imagine that in the next few days, everybody and his brother will be offering some kind of comment on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. After five years, it's probably a good time to review what happened that day and what's happened since.

As Americans, we can have a very short attention span. Five years ago on September 12, American flags, flag t-shirts, and flag decals were selling like hotcakes. It seemed like every car had a decal, every house displayed a crisp new stars and stripes, and every American was wearing a patriotic shirt.

 We were “never going to forget” what happened on that day. We had a national resolve to show that we weren’t going to take that kind of treatment. Country singers were fighting for time in the recording studio to cut a new patriotic song.

After a while,

many of the flags faded and eventually disappeared. The decals and the t-shirts faded. The only people who still seem to be fired up about 9/11 are the country radio stations. The patriotic songs are still playing. But, isn’t that the way we are? We have other things on our minds.

 Why is that? Probably because we ARE the greatest nation on earth. Our security forces stepped up and did their job. We haven’t experienced another attack in five years. We feel safe, whether we really are or not, and have moved on to other worries. We complain about the long check-in lines at the airport and are worried about the high cost of gasoline.

 So, what’s this have to do with your business? I guess it shows that we Americans get on with business regardless of the situation. The business of America is business.

 During the Great Depression, we still did business. During World War II we did business. During the Korean War and the Vietnam War and every other war, we kept on keeping on. We did business. After Hurricane Katrina nearly wiped out the GulfCoast, we kept on doing business. Regardless of whether the government worked for the hurricane victims, business stepped up and did its part.

 During the 40’s we built airplanes and guns. During the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s we built cars and houses. Today a lot of our manufacturing has gone elsewhere, but we still build things. We sell things. We provide services to one another and to the world. We’ve survived because of our business.

The biggest victory for the terrorists who attacked us in 2001 would have been if business had shut down. They know that’s what drives our economy; what keeps us strong. But we didn’t shut down. We did the same thing we did after every great national loss, every tragedy. We took a day or two off to grieve our losses and then we got back to work.

As we remember our brothers and sisters who lost their lives on that terrible September day, and the days that followed, it’s only right that we pause to grieve for them and their families. It’s also right that we acknowledge the brave men and women who worked so long and hard at rescue and recovery and those who are still working to rebuild.

But, don’t sell yourself short either. You can take pride in knowing that you kept going, even when you may not have felt like it. You’re the engine that keeps the economy working. It’s your taxes that pay for the infrastructure that responds to emergencies.  You create the jobs. You move the goods.  It’s your hard work that has made the United States the envy of the rest of the world.

The world has changed. We need to be more alert and vigilant than ever before. We also need to keep doing the business of America, and that’s business.

Thank you for all that you do.