By Editorial

Why hold any event recalling the one-year anniversary of one of the most horrific of all American events? After all, doesn’t any recognition of Sept. 11, 2001, bring back all the pain and terror of that infamous day? Haven’t the victims’ families suffered enough?

Of course they have. But facetious as it sounds, those indelible images of towers descending into monstrous clouds of dust have also stirred us in ways that may ultimately make our country better off.

People in Los Altos and across the nation have renewed pride in their country. Flags fly everywhere, and the one-year anniversary will surely bring out even more red, white and blue.

But this showing of pride goes beyond blind patriotism. Not only did 9-11 put us in touch with our own collective vulnerability, it taught us that if we value our nation as the greatest on earth, we can only keep it alive by living up to our namesake - the “united” states - and stand united as a people against those who would destroy us.

Throughout our country’s history, the only attack on our continental soil was that of our own making - the Civil War. Even Pearl Harbor, in 1941, seemed distant from us.

With our military might and access to the best technologies in the world, we had grown overly self-confident and complacent as a people. Who would or could dare attack us? The 9/11 terrorists slipped under our radar screen only because we couldn’t imagine that they could pull it off.

But they did. And the showing of national pride that would have seemed corny before 9/11 is now unabashed and genuine.

So why attend one-year anniversary ceremonies? 9/11 touched us all very deeply, but time has a funny way of eroding memories, even those as vivid as the terrorist attacks.

We not only should remember - we must remember so that we take nothing for granted and are not caught flatfooted again.

One of this country’s proudest moments was the unity it showed during World War II when tyrants threatened to overtake our nation. 9/11 taught us that we may have to rise to the occasion again and work as a massive team.

Great countries comprise great communities. Great communities comprise people who know and care about neighbors. It is the lack of knowledge that breeds distrust, alienation and isolation. We certainly cannot afford to be isolated from one another.

We cannot understand the sentiments of one California mayor who said her city was not going to have a 9-11 ceremony because “we didn’t lose anybody.”

Of course we did, because “we” are the United States. Divided, we fall, so united we must stand.