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Introductory Remarks Delivered by
Deputy Secretary Steven Law
Fifth Anniversary of 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony,
Washington, D.C.,
Monday, September 11, 2006
Welcome, and thank you for coming to this remembrance ceremony that marks the fifth anniversary of 9/11.
September 11th, 2001 was a day of terror, and a day of heroism.
A day of heartless cruelty, and a day of selfless compassion.
A day of grief, and a day of resolve.
A day of incomprehension, and a day of awakening.
It's a mark of the American character that we are more interested in the future than in the past. As a result we tend not to be very good at history, not just learning it, but plumbing its depths and applying its lessons.
One of America's greatest industrialists, Henry Ford, is reputed to have said that "History is bunk." It's also been said that "History is just one [darn] thing after another." Or as another person put it, almost certainly a frustrated history student, "History is just the same [darn] thing over and over."
But because it's our propensity as Americans to be so charmed by the glittering future that we forget the past, it is important that we come together like this to remember.
September 11th is now a part of this country's history — just as much as Bunker Hill, Fort Sumter, Pearl Harbor, North Korea crossing the 38th Parallel, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. The significance of such watershed events was not just that they precipitated often difficult military actions and responses — but they also ended up shaping our nation's destiny, our role in the world, and our country's character.
9/11 will do the same.
So today, as we remember in our prayers those who have one fewer loved one in their families as a result of the 9/11 attacks, and as we give thanks again for those who continue the fight against the forces of terror, let us also remember this day and its enduring significance — for our nation and for each of us who has lived and touched a part of history.
Thank you.
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