There was an America here, United and strong, curious about its neighbours and hopeful for its future. This was before fear and loathing, before anger and bitterness and conspiracy and chasing ghost and faceless enemies…
There was an America that was before the towers fell, it feels like a lifetime ago, and it feels like it is gone…
I was 11 years old…but even I saw the young man that was our president as he realized in real time …whatever his ideals had been for the future, they were changing…
There is a world before and a world after…and they are two very different things…
There was a loss here, that continued on…with the heroes fighting for their lives and their faces aged before their time…
We have a new moment in America….
In Alabama alone, we have lost over 12k in a pandemic that is ongoing…
It doesn’t feel so far away anymore…
It seems as though every day we lose something or someone once familiar, once close to our hearts…
And we have to find our footing so we can continue…
We have those brave heroes working and fighting everyday…
And like the heroes from 20 years ago…
These are putting their lives on the line…
they have faces, they have names, they have families…
And they will be changed…
And there will be a generation
Who grows up
Changed
From time
And there will be a generation after this …
Asking for the stories ….
There was an America here,
An Alabama,
And it feels like it has gone …
But we continue on…
It is here
Through us…
We maintain our place …
With dignity and humbleness
And courage for discipline and greatness
And refusing to give in to fear…
We continue
And we will tell the stories
And we will keep the courage
To build. To remember. To continue.
For all of us …
For all of our heroes…
We are one.
-E
Regardingsamuel.com
