It has been over a decade since our world was forever changed on that infamous sunny Tuesday morning, when our nation was challenged by the cowardice and evil of small men. Rising from a dark corner on the opposite side of the globe, pathetic hateful men jabbed a dagger into the heart of the United States of America on that fateful September day.
Yet, to borrow from an old English verse, our heads were bloodied, but unbowed.
September 11, 2001 represents not just one of our nation's greatest moments of sorrow, but the day that our nation was awoken from our post-Cold War slumber, to answer another challenge. On that dark day, small-minded cowards attempted to show the world that the United States of America, the great bastion of freedom, the light of liberty, could be pushed into the night.
Nearly 3,000 innocent lives were lost because hateful men who wish to destroy our way of life, who detest everything that our glorious flag stands for, thought they could strike a blow to our sense of security, our commitment to the ideals of our Constitution, and our belief in the basic core moral belief that all of mankind is endowed with the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Today marks not just a great national tragedy, a deep tear in our national soul which can never be forgotten or repaired, but it marks the anniversary of the rebirth of our nation, conceived not just in liberty but in the belief that humanity would no longer stand idly by and allow small, cowardly men to hold us hostage to fear.
Today, eleven years after our nation was challenged, we have answered the call. We are still here. We have refused to allow the lantern of liberty to be extinguished by their hate. We refuse to fade into the night. We have been bloodied, but we remain unbowed.
We have endured and we will continue to persevere to the great cause laid before us now: the continued existence of our Republic and our way-of-life. That is the challenge that September 11 represents: those who threaten us with terror seek not political concessions nor pecuniary gain. Instead, they are motivated by a hatred of everything our Constitution represents; they seek the total and complete destruction of the United States of America, of our grand Republic, of our way-of-life, of the dream that all men are created equal.
Eleven years, we are still here. Challenged by those who seek the annihilation of everything our Republic stands for, we have not only refused to bow, but we have lit the light of liberty even brighter. So, while we take time to remember the innocent loss of life, let us re-dedicate ourselves to the great task remaining before us: that those beloved innocents are not forgotten, that fear does not rule, and that we protect the Republic, our way-of-life, and that the cause of liberty shall not be extinguished by hatred.
GOD BLESS AMERICA.