Excuse me, a little more civility, please

Ground Zero on Jan. 4, 2011

As news editor of my college newspaper who worked on deadlines late the night before, I kept pressing snooze on Sept. 11, 2001. I thought I dreamed about the voices from my clock radio reporting planes crashing into the buildings in New York City. Even in my dreams, I knew these words sounded irrational and impossible.

 Planes don't fly into buildings. This doesn't happen in the United States of America, I thought. Until minutes after this "dream" on Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism existed in my mind mostly as a vague notion that happened in Israel, England, Ireland and other areas I had never visited. A young Mississippian struggling to balance work with college studies, I was much less experienced in the world than I wanted to believe. However, I soon gained insight into how much I didn't know about our world neighbors, especially those who hated the American ideals in life.

 Before the terrorist attacks, I thought of George W. Bush as the Texas cowboy who lost the popular vote to Al Gore in the presidential election. However, after 9/11, I saw him to as a leader who would help comfort Americans and the world during this most uncertain time. I remember feeling proud of his speech when he addressed Congress, the nation and the world about how we could stand together against enemies to the American way of life. In an undergraduate communications course on persuasion, I wrote an analysis paper on President Bush's effective speech, a talk that galvanized the world to remember that we're all Americans, all New Yorkers.

 Little did we know that a few years later, that same president would use faulty logic and secret intelligence to justify a second war based on 9/11 attacks to further extend our military in the Middle East. We would have never guessed while viewing President Bush standing at Ground Zero speaking from a megaphone to first responders that he would leave office disgraced from his war in Iraq and a nose-diving economy. His legacy today remains toxic even for members of his own political party. Right-wing friends of mine even stopped identifying with the GOP, instead, choosing to call themselves "conservatives."

 Now we have a lukewarm, left-leaning president, former U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, who replaced Bush to help right America during perilous times with our shaky economy. Vitriol in the United States now makes political animosity during the Bush and Clinton years seem like infatuated lovers. And that says a lot considering the father of my ex-girlfriend who kept the flag at his home at half-mass during the entire Clinton presidency citing as justification, "our country is in mourning."

 Watching Fox News, MSNBC, talk radio and so many other outlets, I miss the civil ways we used to hate each other. With the 10th anniversary of 9/11 attacks, let's try to remember what makes us great as a nation. We can achieve so much together through our creativity and teamwork. We don't have to hate each other in the name of politics and other differences. Just because talking heads spout venomous rhetoric, we don't have to act as angry sheep. We can agree that many political differences exist in the United States, as they do in every other place in the world. However, maybe we can also agree to tone down hateful rhetoric about people who have the same ideas as us.

 We all want the same things. We want to find love, happiness, safety, security, education, and future success for those we love. Maybe our African-American President Obama doesn't hate white people as Glenn Beck said. Maybe Republicans don't want poor people dying in the streets and the elimination of school lunch programs at your nearest public school.

Maybe, just maybe we're not as evil as we think. Maybe we have much more common ground than we want to believe.

 Maybe...

 During a June visit to New York City, I visited Ground Zero and met some of New York's great citizens. This fellow was in his apartment four blocks from the Twin Towers on 9/11. Today, he sells booklets about the future of the site and documents to help us remember the tragic day in world history. During my visit, he took a few moments to share his thoughts on New Yorker's resilience, 9/11 and the future.

I had to hold my face to keep from laughing uncontrollably.
I'm not afraid of your silly needles.

To remember tragic events from a decade ago, my girlfriend and I signed up to give blood after church today. While she needs to eat more steak and spinach, United Blood Services allowed me to donate double for both of us.

Blood donated can help people suffering from trauma such as those experiences people had during 9/11. Along with red blood cells, plasma helps burn victims, and blood platelets help people with cancer.

Joan Mylroie organized the blood drive
at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Starkville. 

Joan Mylroie, a member of Trinity Presbyterian Church, has organized September and February blood drives at the church for 17 years now. She said the goal each blood drive is 25 blood donations.

"It's more significant today," she said. "We had more people donate." As I mentioned, I gave a little of myself today for a cause larger than any individual. Each of the four United Blood Services employees at the blood drive provided exceptional service. Pam, the worker who had the burden of putting up with my poor attitude, told me she sees her job as "helping others make a difference and save people."

If you want to help by giving blood, contact UBS or e-mail Joan.

She's still my hero, even if she didn't have enough iron in her system to donate this time.