Has it really been 15 years already?

Has it really been 15 years already? I remember just where I was and what I watched unfold on TV.
For a brief moment the soot and ash covered us all; concealing the color of our skin, our political views and all the other things that devide us today. For that brief time we were nothing more than Americans. We became the nation I was told we were as a school kid. We cared about our neighbor without prejudice and we worked toward a common goal. We felt empathy for one another and rather than rioting we held blood drives, memorials and moments of silence to reflect and come together. Did it lead to a war? You're damn right it did because freedom is far from free and I thank God for the men and woman who had already made the decision to put their life on the line and the many who decided at that point that it was their duty and joined the armed forces. I am thankful for the first responders who ran into buildings knowing their life was at stake to save their fellow Americans. In the moment it seemed like everything happened in slow motion; our hands were tied watching the destruction and then the rebuilding and healing process. Yet looking back it all happened too fast; where did that pride in being an American go? Where did our empathy and care for one another go? When did we start hating our military, first responders and when did we lose our love for red, white and blue? Does it take something as extream as an attack from a foreign enemy to bring us together? I surely hope not. I hope we can find a positive way to come together again.