September 12th Once United Us—Now It Shows How Broken We've Become

AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

Twenty-four years ago, September 12th, 2001, was one of the darkest mornings in American history, and somehow also one of the brightest. The smoke still rose from New York, the Pentagon still smoldered, and Pennsylvania still reeled. Yet, with heavy hearts, Americans were united. I was just 11, but even at that age, I knew something remarkable was happening. Race didn’t matter, class didn’t matter, political labels didn’t matter. America, scarred and shaken, stood shoulder to shoulder. We cried together, we prayed together, we flew flags together. Patriotism wasn’t mocked; it was assumed. Hope glimmered through the heartbreak.

Advertisement

Fast forward to September 12th, 2025. What a different country this feels like. Instead of being bound by tragedy, we are being ripped apart by it. After the political assassination of Charlie Kirk, one of the most visible conservative voices of this generation, our nation isn’t rallying in shared grief. It’s fracturing. It’s boiling over with venom. And most disturbingly, there are radicals actually celebrating his death. Celebrating. Cheering. Applauding the murder of an American citizen for daring to speak his mind.

That should chill every person to the bone. But instead, the silence from the Left is deafening. Where is the outcry? Where is the “this isn’t who we are” chorus that rang out in the days after 9/11? Back then, our enemies were foreign. Today, it feels like our enemies are our neighbors. And worse, some of them openly believe that violence against dissenters isn’t just acceptable, it’s noble.

How do you coexist with someone who thinks your life is expendable because your views are inconvenient? How do you share a country with people who would rather see you dead than see you vote? That’s the question eating away at me this September 12th. I don’t feel hope. I don’t see the bright horizon that once emerged even from the ashes of the Twin Towers. What I see now is darkness, cultural, spiritual, and political.

Advertisement

Back then, we sang “God Bless America” at baseball games and meant it. Now, half the country boos the anthem and calls the flag a symbol of oppression. Back then, we found comfort in prayer. Now, prayer is mocked, faith is shamed, and the very freedoms enshrined in our Constitution are treated like obstacles to “progress.” Back then, the common enemy was clear. Today, the common enemy is anyone who dares to challenge progressive orthodoxy.


READ MORE: President Trump Speaks at Pentagon on 9/11, Will Honor Charlie Kirk With Presidential Medal of Freedom

America Was Targeted on September 11, 2001: Where Were You, When?


Charlie Kirk’s assassination is not just a tragedy—it’s a warning. A warning that we are walking down a road where political violence isn’t the exception, it’s the expectation. And once that door is open, there is no closing it.

I wish I could say I feel the same hope I felt at 11 years old on September 12, 2001. But today, I don’t. Today, I feel something much more fragile: resolve. If America is to survive, if freedom is to endure, then the rest of us must refuse to bend to fear or to violence. We must refuse to be silent. 

Advertisement

Because if we don’t, September 12th will no longer be a symbol of unity after tragedy; instead, it will mark the day we realized we may not have a country left to unite.

Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats try desperately to stop it.  

Help us continue to report on President Trump's successes. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.

Recommended

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on RedState Videos