Certain dates are seared into our memories. More often than not, we can’t remember what we had for breakfast this morning or even what we saw in the 90 minutes driving from one community to another. However, those of us over 25 remember a fateful day in 2001 when our complacency and confidence that we were in a safe place was shattered, and we knew that nowhere was completely under protection.

In just a couple of days, we will be passing the 25^th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, where terrorists struck a blow against the United States that turned bliss into fear, broke down some walls and brought people together. We all remember where we were when those first harrowing images hit our television screens of airplanes crashing into the Twin Towers in New York City.

I was over a year into my first full-time reporting gig with the Chino Valley Review. I was not due into the office until later in the day that Tuesday, so I was in the middle of getting ready for work around 9:30 a.m., and then I turned on the television and was greeted by fire and smoke coming from one of the towers, and it was only a few minutes later that another plane took out the second tower for all to see, both planes hijacked by al-Qaeda.

Obviously, as a journalist, albeit a young one, I wasn’t immune to tragedy. I’d been on scenes where perfectly decently looking vehicles were now twisted and mangled, sometimes with people injured or dead. I’d seen fires destroy buildings, bringing death and destruction in their wake.

This hit differently.

Our country had always been seen as a beacon for freedom. At that point, the United States had existed since a bunch of men signed the Declaration of Independence 225 years earlier. Wars happened in other countries, as much as anyone could recall. Not since the attack on Pearl Harbor 60 years earlier had enemy forces dealt such a blow, and that was only remembered by the older generations, as we had not experienced it.

Things didn’t stop with the Twin Towers, however. Soon came the news about another plane crashing into the Pentagon. That was supposed to be a military headquarters, much more secure than most other buildings in the country, but yet that place was also attacked. Were other planes coming for us? Where was the next place that would be turned into a smoking cinder?

There was one more plane hijacked by al-Qaeda, but the other passengers took charge and forced the plane to crash in Pennsylvania. Flight 93 had originally been bound for the U.S. Capitol Building. It was the first sign that we were not facing the end of the world.

Bodies were buried in all the carnage, but one thing that rose up was a moment in time where we stopped worrying about all the triviality and the “small stuff.” We looked around at our neighbors and realized we were all the same in that moment. We were victims. We were sad. We were angry.

We were Americans.

The terrorist attacks created fear, but they also created resolve. I threw myself together quickly and reported to the newspaper office ahead of schedule, and then we discussed our local coverage, as there was already talk of candlelight vigils and opportunities to hit the streets and talk to people about what they were feeling as the status quo had been turned on its ear.

It was a turning point in history where naivete was no longer running the show, and we were forced to pay attention outside our own personal bubbles. Sadly, the concept of one America didn’t last long, and 25 years later, divisiveness is more common than ever.

That’s why I was hoping that the 25^th anniversary would be something that would at least remind us of when we were in a better place. We came together then. Now, we’re so far apart that you could fit football stadiums in between us.

Apparently, it will take another tragedy to bring us together, and it will be on an epic scale. After all, many of us were floored when the riots hit the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, but even that wasn’t enough for everyone to drop their pettiness and cruelty and come back together. Dozens of deaths in a single day don’t have an impact like thousands.

Is that what it takes to make us one nation under God again? I certainly hope not.