Remembering 9/11, Thirteen Years Later

Our oldest son was a senior in high school on September 11, 2001.  In his valedictory speech on his graduation day in June of 2002, he mentioned the tragic event that forever scarred the hearts of  all Americans.  In part, here is what he said:

 ...this year we looked on in disbelief on September 11th as innocent lives were taken by the evil of terrorism.  The pain we felt...was acute, but strength is often forged in the fires of misfortune...through the 9/11 tragedy, I hope, we learned to respect and protect life, every human life. 

It is this that our society needs most today.  Our society's moral values have been in a downward spiral for quite a while, and this trend shows no sign of getting better unless there is a change in the way we think.  At the heart of this moral decline is a cheapening of human life.  Pope John Paul II has called this the "Culture of Death."  Choices once unanimously considered criminal and rejected by the common moral sense are gradually becoming socially acceptable.  One of the tragic consequences of this trend is abortion.  The amount of abortions performed in this country is truly staggering.  Each day, more pre-born human lives are lost to abortion than the total death toll in the 9/11 tragedy.  This moral conditioning has also spawned assisted suicide and euthanasia and now human cloning experimentation is a reality.  To quote our Pope, "conscience itself, darkened as it were by such widespread conditioning, is finding it increasingly difficult to distinguish between good and evil in what concerns the basic value of human life."

To see what else he said in his triumphant pro-life valedictory speech (and the surprising reaction of some listeners), you can read the full post.here.