Just a thought.

 

Nineteen years ago today, we were united. We were one nation. Our political party or philosophy didn't matter. We stood together as one, proud and defiant, in the face of tragedy. We stood tall. And we prevailed.

It seems that there are even worse tragedies than the one that befell us on 9/ 11. Like losing what we had that day.

Somehow, my mind is drawn today, of all things, to  Scotland's unofficial national anthem. It's surprising that such an ancient land has a generally acknowledged anthem that was written so recently, and one never officially recognized by law at that. It was composed by Roy Williamson of the folk band The Corries, who died in 1990; it seems first to have appeared in an album by the group in 1965. It recalls the victory of the Scots under King Robert I ("the Bruce") over the army of Edward II of England at Bannockburn in June of 1314, portrayed rather inaccurately at the conclusion of the movie Braveheart. The victory is usually thought of as ensuring Scotland's independence and as establishing the Bruce as Scotland's unchallenged ruler.

Why does it make me think of 9/11? Well, these are the words: 

O Flower of Scotland,
When will we see
Your like again,
That fought and died for,
Your wee bit Hill and Glen,
And stood against him,
Proud Edward's Army,
And sent him homeward,
To think again.

The Hills are bare now,
And Autumn leaves
Lie thick and still,
O'er land that is lost now,
Which those so dearly held,
That stood against him,
Proud Edward's Army,
And sent him homeward,
To think again.

Those days are past now,
And in the past
They must remain,
But we can still rise now,
And be the nation again,
That stood against him,
Proud Edward's Army,
And sent him homeward,
To think again.

And we Americans don't have to remain what we are now, either- divided, petty, and forgetful not only that we were once something better and stronger but of the values which theoretically bind us together.

We, too, can rise now, and be the nation again that we were back in 2001- a nation that lives while Osama bin Laden lies at the bottom of the ocean.

If we want to.