Russ Feingold: “this past Sunday, Americans from all parts of the country and all walks of life joined together in solemnly marking the…”

“this past Sunday, Americans from all parts of the country and all walks of life joined together in solemnly marking the painful anniversary of the terrible attacks of September 11, 2001. Of course, Americans remember 9/11 every day. It has become a part of how we understand the world around us; it has been seared into our national consciousness. But we do not remember only the terrorist attacks themselves. We remember the lives, contributions, and aspirations of nearly three thousand innocent men, women and children who were killed that day. We remember the courage and heroism of our first responders. And we remember the outpouring of support and assistance and solidarity that came from every community in this great country and from so many around the world in the days following the attacks. All of these memories unite us as Americans. Every day, those memories strengthen our unshakable resolve to defeat the terrorist networks that wish to do us harm, and to preserve the freedoms that generations of Americans have fought to protect. As our country confronts the devastation left in the wake of hurricane Katrina, we can see some of that same national strength, that same American solidarity and resolve, emerging again. It is by nurturing and reinforcing that national strength and compassion that we pay tribute to those we lost on September 11, 2001.”