September 11

And can we please have a moment of truth?
For soldiers and troops away with helmets and boots
And families back home who pray they make it home safe
Hopin' that they don't get hit with a stray or missiles
This is just a moment to let you all know that we miss you
Mommy I'm still here, wishin' I was there with you
Let's take a moment

As day comes and night falls
For the rest of our life we'll miss y'all
And even though life must go on, we'll still mourn
While wishin' y'all were home

Nas - Just A Moment

I reflect about the lesson that September 11th taught me. This is the lesson:

We must stay vigilant

We must stay vigilant. On Sept. 11th, we were caught sleeping. Your average citizen never even had a premonition about a tragedy as close as devastating as this. No one in government expected this to happen. There were no preparations made in case of a situation like this. That is unacceptable.

But as citizens, we must be vigilant. What does this entail? This means that we must watch over our government. We must hold them accountable for their actions, or lack thereof. As citizens, our right to vote can be used as the greatest checks and balance in our government. In the end, we can force, cajole, and convince government officials to change their governing behavior.

But this requires a lot on our part. It requires that we educate ourselves on how our government works. We need to know how it functions in order to participate effectively. We also need to educate ourselves on what our congressmen, state congressman, mayors, governors, etc believe in. The easiest way to do this: look at how the govern, not what they say. Look at how your city council votes. Know that your US Senator voted for or against an updated GI Bill. Know if he only voted present or actually placed a real yes or no vote. The public has done itself a disservice by not being educated. How can we hold people accountable if we dont even know what they doing??

Secondly, we must vote! We must vote! WE MUST VOTE! This is how we let the government know we are vigilant. The only way they keep doing what the people ask is when they know the people are watching. You must actively participate in order to see the change you want. And the easiest way to do this is to vote.

Sept 11th has shown us the need to be vigilant. Our government must be able to provide our security without removing our freedoms (that's even if we have those). And our citizenry must stay awake, must be watching in order to guarantee that this happen. I am vigilant, watching my government. I will hold it accountable for the mistakes it makes by using my way of balancing the power:voting. Never again will it find me asleep. I hope that goes the same for you.