A number of 9/11 memorial services were held this weekend, and most of them encouraged Americans to remember the acts of courage and selflessness that marked so many in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
In a sunset memorial service held at the temporary Flight 93 memorial, First Lady Michelle Obama asked people to remember the courageous acts of passengers which may well have saved the lives of countless others. Flight 93 was the only airplane hijacked by Al Queda that did not crash into its intended target. Although reports over what actually happened are unclear, it is believed that passengers learnt about the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and so decided to storm the hijackers to ensure that their plane did not crash into a populated area.
“They came from all different backgrounds and all walks of life, and they all took a different path to that September morning,” said Michelle Obama during the memorial ceremony.
“But in that awful moment when the facts became clear, and they were called to make an impossible choice, they all found the same resolve. They agreed to the same bold plan,” Obama continued, referring to the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93.
“They called the people they loved –- many of them giving comfort instead of seeking it, explaining they were taking action, and that everything would be okay,” Obama recalled.
“And then they rose as one, they acted as one, and together, they changed history’s course.”
President Barack Obama spoke at the Pentagon Memorial service, and used the opportunity to try to heal the ever-growing rift between many Americans and the religion of Islam.
Obama emphasized that Americans “are not – and never will be – at war with Islam.”
“It was not a religion that attacked us that September day - it was al Qaeda, a sorry band of men which perverts religion. And just as we condemn intolerance and extremism abroad, so will we stay true to our traditions here at home as a diverse and tolerant nation,” the president stated, as anti-Muslim sentiments threatened to mar Saturday’s 9/11 observations.
Obama exhorted the people of America not to allow “a small band of murders” to “distort” who they are.
“They may seek to exploit our freedoms, but we will not sacrifice the liberties we cherish or hunker down behind walls of suspicion and mistrust. They may wish to drive us apart, but we will not give in to their hatred and prejudice. For Scripture teaches us to ‘get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice,’” the president urged.
“Those who attacked us sought to demoralize us, divide us, to deprive us of the very unity, the very ideals, that make America America – those qualities that have made us a beacon of freedom and hope to billions around the world,” Obama added.
“Today we declare once more we will never hand them that victory. As Americans, we will keep alive the virtues and values that make us who we are and who we must always be.”