My Plea for Peace

I have given a lot of thought as to whether I wanted to write about 9/11 and have decided that I will never be able to fully articulate my feelings about that infamous day. However, with the 10th anniversary of the attacks this Sunday I did want to say just a few things. Please forgive me for delving into this on what is meant to be a sports blog.

Let me start off by saying that I still remember vividly where I was 10 years ago and the horror that I felt in watching the day unfold. I may have been 4 hours away in central PA and I may have been lucky enough not to have lost anyone on that date, but the attacks still had a profound effect on me.

I remember how the country came together to fight through the pain. The days immediately following 9/11 were ones that all Americans should be proud of. We were down and collectively pulled ourselves back up. We were able to look past the differences in each other and realize that we had the most important thing in common - we were Americans. Unfortunately, 10 years later I no longer see this sense of community as we are once again a nation divided. Not only can't our two political parties function together on purely economic issues, but now there is an underlying difference in religious beliefs between the two.

And that brings me to my overall plea to everyone in this country. Feel free to continue to grieve in whatever way brings you the most peace. If you feel so inclined, be angry at those that attacked you and your country, but please try to separate your hatred. Don't hate the group of honest, good people who happen to share the same religion as those that attacked us. Don't hate people because they look different than you, speak a different language than you, have a different sexual orientation than your or are different in any way than you. In the end, we all just want the same things: the chance to have basic necessities, the chance to raise our kids and the chance to practice our faith. We are the same, just a little different.


To tie this into sports, the Mets were the first NY team to play in NYC after the attacks (even know the Yankees will get all the credit). On Sept 21, 2001 they played the Braves and provided a brief distraction from the pain and suffering. That night Mike Piazza hit a 2-run home run in the 8th inning to help the Mets win 3-2. A link to the moment is provided to the right continuously, but for those who have never seen, here is a link. I have never heard the crowd at Shea sound the way they did that night and still to this day I get choked up.