All Americans remember where they were nineteen years ago today when Radical Islamic Terrorists attacked our nation. Motivated by hatred for our way of life and our civilization, they expressed themselves with repugnant violence. Their actions affected every member of the New York Young Republican Club. This manifested differently for each of us, be it as worry for the safety of our uncontactable family members and neighbors, blistering confusion at watching our city ripped asunder, or intense fear that this pain was but a prelude to even greater horrors to come.
On that same day, however, we saw the strongest and the bravest among us rise to their greatest calling as they sacrificed their lives to save others from certain death. This included 343 members of the New York Fire Department, 37 officers of the Port Authority Police Department, 23 officers of the New York Police Department, 8 EMTs, and 1 member of the now-defunct New York Fire Patrol. The sacrifice of these brave men and women will forever inspire us; we will remain steadfast and resolute in our commitment to support these agencies and the righteous ideals that their members demonstrate daily.
As Cicero wrote in De Officiis (On Duties):
Fortis vero et constantis est, non perturbari in rebus asperis, nec tumultuantem de gradu dejici, ut dicitur; sed praesentis animi uti consilio, nec a ratione discedere.
It is the character of a brave and resolute man not to be ruffled with adversity and not to be in such confusion as to desert his post, as we say, but to preserve presence of mind and the exercise of reason without departing from his purpose.
God Bless America.