The Beauty and Fragility of Life

It was at this very hour six years ago the terror began. The world stopped. What happened? What had we lost?

Out of that confusion and grief there has evolved an ever-growing group of patriotic Americans, roused from their sleep to take action to rebuild our nation and its place in the world.

We took stock, gradually learned not only more about what had happened that day, but about the stranglehold on our nation’s fragile democracy.

Do we act as responsible citizens in the world? Does our vote count? Do we permit torture? Do we still believe in the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Geneva Conventions?

After a moment of silence to honor our collective loss six years ago, I am prepared to get to work to help the living. We’ve got a lot to do, let’s get going.

I would say that compared with six years ago, I am much more conscious of the beauty and fragility of life. Perhaps I should say, conscious once again, because as a child this awareness was with me every day.

Being at fdl has changed me in ways known and unknown. What a great gift to find all of you. All the things I’m working on continue, but in the company of this immense number of friends and colleagues. We are connected by our desire to reclaim our nation from the abyss and make the future habitable by the next generation. A toast to the fdl community.

——egregious, 11 September 2007

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