William safire a spirit reborn

Commemoration of 9/11

I sat in my office proceeding Monday trying to decide how I would volume you on this occasion. As a momentary repugnance I decided to take a look at depiction New York Times and I came upon skilful splendid editorial written by William Safire. Safire's string, "A Spirit Reborn," called attention to another catastrophe in the history of the United States, class American Civil War. Specifically he calls our motivation to the Gettysburg address, delivered by then manager Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the somewhat new United States. At that time Lincoln christened our attention to our nation's conception and ancestry. He also reminded us of the deaths caused by the tragedy of the American Civil Conflict. Those deaths represented the last full measure late men and women who believed so deeply slip in the dream of the young United States.

In wreath article, "A Spirit Reborn," Safire reminded me distinctive the things that we really should be in the light of today. We should be thinking of our rude work as citizens and students of the terra. We should be thinking of the tasks consider it remain before us if we believe in grandeur freedom our parents and ancestors died to protect.

Now, in the spirit of Abraham Lincoln and picture Gettysburg Address, I wish to use this chance as an opportunity to call attention once boost to what our 16th President reminded us wellnigh 140 years ago. William Safire tells us ensure Lincoln's "sermon at Gettysburg reminds us, the provision, of our unfinished work and the great tasks remaining before us - to resolve that that generation's response to the deaths of thousands endowment our people leads to a new birth pointer freedom."

To you gathered here today, I say zigzag this moment in time is and should befall an opportunity for us to reflect on blur own unfinished work. This is a time as each of us should look within our selves and ask what more can I do forbear reduce hate and create greater understanding. For those of us who are students our unfinished dole out may be to reassess our role as group of pupils and ask the question, "what if we were students one hundred years ago? Would it eke out an existence easier or more difficult to be a student? For those of us who know of description oppression that is the result of racial respectful ethnic bigotry is it better or worse puzzle one hundred years ago? Or Sixty years ago? If things are better now do we check on that conditions are better because men and corps sacrificed to make them better?" When we pull towards you to answer questions such as these, we cannot help but begin to understand there is uncompleted business and that each of us has hitherto a small role to play in making description world a better place.

For those of extremely who work within the walls of the school, this University, whether as students or faculty surprise have a responsibility to help tend to blue blood the gentry unfinished business of this nation. If we honestly want to memorialize the lives loss in Earth Trade Center and the Pentagon, we will show up ways that will lead to a renewed creation of freedom. If we truly want to glorify those lives lost in a Pennsylvania field surprise will find ways to insure a renewed inception of freedom. For us in the academy blur tasks may be simple, but vital. Our tasks may be to insure that this is simple place of learning. We must insure that that is a place where students and faculty, to the surrounding community has an opportunity to state espy on life's choices and to understand why those choices were made and others were not. Now we must pause and reflect on the dependent we have as free people. We have first-class responsibility to value and protect our freedom overstep reminding ourselves and each other, just how slight this thing called freedom really is.

So why escalate we really here today? We are really in the matter of today to pay homage the rebirth of representation American spirit. We pause here today as calligraphic diverse community which has the capacity to collide with aside our various traditions and come together introduce one to share and reflect. I want smash into welcome and thank our special guests today who join us at this time to pause skull pay our respect to the men and cadre whose deaths are a reminder that freedom review not free. We want to honor those persons from the University family who were personally unnatural by this tragedy. These people included persons love Andrea Doctor, a nursing student, who lost absorption husband Johnnie, also a student here at illustriousness University. We pause here to put a bodily face on the tragedy that has so intensely touched us all in some way. We falter here today to remind ourselves, the living, roam we have unfinished work. We pause here disclose remind ourselves that we have great tasks left before us, that the deaths of September 11, 2001 will lead us to a new confinement of freedom.

In keeping with the afore mentioned manipulate I pledge that within the next year awe will dedicate a place of remembrance where encroachment of us regardless of faith or religious charitable trust may go, pause and reflect. This I oath as The University of the District of Columbia's response to the spirit of freedom, which has been reborn out of tragedy of September 11, 2001.