[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 133 (Friday, September 9, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1581-E1582]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            TEN YEARS AFTER: REMEMBERING THE VICTIMS OF 9/11

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                           HON. RUSH D. HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 9, 2011

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, this week our nation paused to mark the 10th 
anniversary of al Qaeda's attack on America. When we remember September 
11th, we remember our fear, our shock, our disbelief, our grief. We 
remember images we wish we could forget. We remember loved ones we wish 
we could visit just once more. We remember how those who lost a family 
member channeled their grief and anger into a positive force for 
change.
  In retrospect, we know our fears and our reaction to them were 
exaggerated. We allowed ourselves to become more suspicious and 
distrustful, more militant, more divided. And yet September 11th was 
not only among our darkest hours, but also among our finest.
  I remember Todd Beamer of Cranbury, who, along with the other 
passengers on Flight 93, gave his life to prevent another airplane 
being used as a weapon against the Capitol or the White House. I also 
remember ``the Jersey Girls''--Kristen Breitweiser, Patty Casazza, 
Lorie Van Auken, and Mindy Kleinberg--who along with other family 
members successfully fought to have the 9/11 Commission created. These 
men and women of 9/11--those who died and those who guard their 
legacy--remind us all what is great and good about our Nation and its 
people.
  Yet I feel hopeful. September 11th was not only among our darkest 
hours, but also among our finest. Strangers guided strangers away from 
the collapsing towers. Across the country, lines stretched around the 
block of men and women waiting to give blood. For at least a moment, we 
saw our conflicts and rivalries as what they truly are: small and 
earnest differences among the brothers and sisters of the American 
family.
  Tragedy has a way of bringing people closer together. It doesn't 
minimize our differences; it magnifies everything we have in common.
  I am hopeful today because I believe that, in spite of all the 
challenges we face, we still have so much in common. We still remain 
capable of such great things. As we remember our grief, I hope we also 
remember our unity--and realize that we are bound together as tightly 
today as we were a decade ago.

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