Beyond the Rubble
I remember the exact minute a slow-moving, unmarked van transported me from the supply warehouse to Ground Zero. When I stepped out of it, it felt like I stepped out of my childhood idealism and into the only war zone most people in my generation had ever seen.
It was like every disaster movie I’d ever seen rolled into one, only sickeningly real. A mammoth skyscraper lay in shambles. Lives had been lost and more hung in the balance. And every agency I’d ever seen on TV–FEMA, the Military Police, the NYPD, the NYFD, the FBI–were all scrambling around at mach speed trying to organize the efforts.
I remember standing there, trying to absorb that I was literally looking at a page of history–something that would become a two page spread in every textbook printed after that date.
I was 23.
The sense of emotion in the air was as hard to miss as the pile of rubble itself. Most of the NYPD and NYFD had been sifting through the rubble around the clock–day into night into the next day and into the next night–determined to save New York’s fallen. They climbed the rocky scape of the crumbled tower under nightfall, in rain, and even through blasts of an airhorn that warned the building was settling more. They hung onto threads of hope–maybe people were alive in some sort of pocket near the building’s cafeteria; maybe a cat that seemed to have emerged from the rubble was a sign that other life might emerge as well.
Survivors did not emerge after that point. But something else that surprised me did. It was HOPE.
I know that sounds outrageous and unbelievable. That here in one of the darkest moments in our nation’s history, that hope survived where human life did not.
But yet, I tell you, there was something so solidifying about our nation pulling together in pain…there was something so significant about rallying to the aid of our fellow Americans…there was something so moving happening in the space between humans… that we became nearly as determined to search for meaning as we were to search for survivors.
They say there were no social classes those weeks. People were not black or white; corporate types or gang members; old or young. Everyone–fresh out of college kids like me, veteran public officials, chaplains, yes even peaceable muslims–somehow not only worked together, but navigated extremely weighty and complex tasks without needing to say much. It was as if we were all pre-programmed to understand each other, to understand what was important in this world, for a moment.
All of us were enveloped in an uncanny sense of sameness. We were all humans…beings of the same species…whose lives held worth.
All of this, of course, is why it makes me sick to turn on the news right now; to see New York–this same wounded New York–being buried by tension and heated emotion as the Muslims try to build a community center two blocks from Ground Zero. I grieve that a Muslim cab driver was stabbed, that Muslims have been the target of vandalism, that the FBI has issued a hate-crime warning around this issue.
I’m like just about everybody I know. I know everyone involved has rights. And I know the principle of rights is important. But with all our rights to speak what we want, to build where we want, or to protest the way we want, I fear we may forget about our right to exercise other equally important rights: the right to nurture peace and the right to exercise kindness to our fellow humans even when we disagree with them.
I’m not asking anyone to arrive at a certain position about Ground Zero or even about the pastor who threatened to burn Korans in Florida. There are too many complexities involved for all of us to reach the same conclusion. But I hope that we are reflective about how we go about expressing these divergent opinions. Whatever we believe, we can voice those opinions in ways that pump peace into our culture or we can voice those opinions in a way that inflames anger.
We can tap into a spirit of hate–like the one that tore those towers down. Or we can tap into a spirit of hope–like the one that came to New York’s aid.
In my humble opinion, truth does not have to be aggressive or hateful for it to be true. And peace can be the one thing we all choose to believe in together, even if we don’t align on all the particulars.
I’ve asked some voices in the blog world to try to remember that right with me today. They’ve agreed to join together, regardless of their divergent opinions, to express a message of goodwill to New York and to the rest of the country.
I’ll be posting some of their stories here on this site later today. If you’d like to join us in posting a message of goodwill on your blog, facebook, twitter or email account, it’s not too late.
—-
To kick off this collective guesture of goodwill I’ve asked my publisher, Zondervan, to give away copies of my book, Picking Dandelions, which tells my account of Ground Zero in Part IV.
- You can download the full electronic version for FREE at Amazon starting September 13th (Monday).
- You can get the paperback version at an obscenely discounted price, knocked down as low as we could get it for this occasion, by going here and entering the discount code ‘980763’. (The cost is a buck plus below Amazon’s price, which is unheard of. I’m so proud and thankful for my publishers willingness to do this.)
- You can leave a comment here on this blog by clicking here or on the comment box next to the title of this blog post. Every commenter will be entered to win a limited number of free paperback versions of the book. Winners will be chosen by random drawing.
What Does Never Forget Mean? | Janet Oberholtzer September 11, 2010 (7:12 am)
[…] Read Sarah’s thoughts on the day and enter to get a free book on her site. […]
Karen September 11, 2010 (7:52 am)
WOW what a story you have…May Gods Peace engulf us all…
Linda B. September 11, 2010 (8:13 am)
I remember the first Sunday after 9/11. I looked out from the stage in the church as we were leading worship at a huge crowd of people. They had come looking for some peace. They came with their hearts aching. We were all a group of grieving people who needed comfort. I’m thankful that we have a God who can meet us at those times. This morning I find myself praying for the families who lost loved ones, and praying for us all. It’s good to know that the same God, who walked the earth at a time of incredible turmoil and transformed the lives of the people he touched, is here with us today. May he bring comfort and peace to our hearts today. May we come together in our common need for mercy, instead of being divided by all the controversy and the political agendas. Thank you for your post today.
Kari September 11, 2010 (9:27 am)
I have been horrified that there is a prevailing idea that religious freedom should only extend to the people who agree with you and worship the same way you do.
Today, especially, I am praying for peace and for the safety of those serving our country.
John Alexander September 11, 2010 (10:49 am)
Powerful story. I’m a new reader and will return!!
Wendy Jones September 11, 2010 (11:39 am)
I was touched by your specific words “childhood idealism”. This is truly what changed for me in our country and in my heart on September 11. So many other parts of our world suffer attacks on a daily basis…so many live in fear…but here in America we have always had a sense of safety…a sense of could I say peace? September 11 awoke a part of us all…and brought a realization that our safety and comfort truly lie in the Lord.
aussie monica September 11, 2010 (12:34 pm)
my heart and prayers are with all who suffered, grieved and healed because of 9/11
Sean Marion September 11, 2010 (12:55 pm)
This 9/11 do something and love somebody. Go out of your way to do something for somebody that will make a difference in there lives. Weather it’s paying for somebody’s gas or cutting somebody’s grass or just going by a visiting somebody that doesn’t usually get visitors or lifting somebody up with a kind word. Do some thing like this for somebody tomorrow and continue to do that through out the rest of your life. Love somebody and never forget………… LOVE is the final fight.
Captain’s Blog » Remembering 9/11 September 11, 2010 (4:03 pm)
[…] Beyond the Rubble by Sarah Cunningham […]
marieDee September 11, 2010 (5:26 pm)
Thank you for the beautifully-expressed sentiments, which I pray will resonate with more and more people in America and throughout the world. I look forward to reading your book.
Rick Smith September 11, 2010 (7:36 pm)
thanks for the powerful reminder. Grace and Peace to you…
Paula Harrington September 11, 2010 (9:23 pm)
This is beautiful, Sarah. Thank you.
Lauren Lamoreaux September 12, 2010 (3:48 pm)
Thanks Sarah for this goodwill tour of blogs. I think that this is one of the ways the church starts to pick up the slack of so many years of neglect and do something that encompasses the love of God in such a way that this current society has largely not seen before. I was happy to join in. :-)
Matt @ The Church of No People September 12, 2010 (4:17 pm)
Hey Sarah, I’m always up for winning free things! I’m kind of the random guy who shows up just as freebies are being handed out. Lame, I know.
Jen September 12, 2010 (9:48 pm)
Beautiful post Sarah. Thanks for this.
9 Years Later « Plywood People September 13, 2010 (6:35 am)
[…] honor of 9/11 Sarah is generously giving her book away where she shares her story and experience. “The city is going to survive, we are going to […]
rosedale September 13, 2010 (2:57 pm)
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. 9 years later and we still are struggling to find the balance since 9/11. These are wonderful thoughts.
Nicci Waters September 13, 2010 (10:48 pm)
Thanks for sharing about your experiences from that day. It’s interesting and sad to hear all the different accounts and stories from people. i’d love to read your book, thank you
trurnBept October 13, 2012 (11:01 pm)
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