What Can Charlie Kirk's Assassination Teach Us As We Remember 9/11?

"9/11 is a day for somber reflection and unity. The political assassination of Charlie Kirk is a vivid reminder of a moment I've never shared before, but one that feels timely. The scale of those attacks the loss, the horror, the trauma was unmatched in modern American life. Nothing else compares. But the way we initially reacted then can hopefully teach us something today. It's easy to forget that in September 2001, America was also bitterly divided."

"President George W. Bush's first year in office was defined by suspicion, resentment, and partisan rancor. And then, in an instant, all of that seemed to fall away. After the attacks, our first instinct wasn't to assign blame or retreat into political corners. It was to come together. That unity didn't last forever, of course it rarely does in a democracy but in the days and weeks after September 11th, Americans showed a grace toward one another that we should also memorialize."

"I rarely talk about 9/11 because I've come to loathe the way it's been exploited by politicians and charlatans who have used it for personal gain. I lived in the West Village at the time. On the morning of 9/11, I was in my third week at a new job, and like so many New Yorkers, I remember the shock, the fear, and the long walk home after work had been canceled (subways were shut down)."

In September 2001, Americans reacted to unprecedented loss, horror, and trauma by briefly setting aside intense partisan rancor that followed the 2000 election. In New York City's West Village, residents experienced shock, fear, disrupted commutes, and long walks home through dust from the collapsed towers. Local bars and improvised candlelight vigils provided community and consolation. In the days and weeks after the attacks, many Americans displayed grace toward one another and a temporary national unity. Memories of that period include resentment over later political exploitation but also recognition of the solidarity that briefly emerged.

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