Blood shed was red

It’s Sept. 11. I sat at my keyboard early this morning, wanting to write something about the destruction of the twin towers in New York 18 years ago. Many ideas crowded my mind, but I couldn’t settle on just one.

As I watched the national evening news, there were some images that cinched it for me.

The national news program I watched showed images of people at the site of 9/11, making comments about the loved ones they lost. Others recited the names of the nearly 3,000 souls who lost their lives that day. There were faces of all hues, making comments as they shed tears that were as fresh today as they were 18 years ago. One lady spoke in Spanish. I prayed her words would grip the hearts and minds of all Americans who saw and heard her.

Why can’t we remember all the times in our history when people from every stripe imaginable have paid the price in suffering unto death to preserve our freedom? Why can’t those of us who think we are superior to others realize that the highest of prices have been paid by a diversity of individuals for these amber waves of grain?

Large numbers of people visited houses of worship after 9/11. Unfortunately, the need to connect with powers greater than we are after tragedies wears off soon. I remember the hate many showed toward people who looked a certain way. The angel of death chose liberally on 9/11. Color and ethnicity made no difference. All the blood shed that day was red!

God bless America and all who reside within her.

HOSEA LONG Little Rock