I feel mournful about this anniversary, but not for the reasons many would claim to be so.

I feel the need to retrospect, but not so I can recapture some misguided sense of patriotism.

Fifteen years ago, a young teenager was shown for the first time in his life what true hatred looks like; how it looks not just coming from those who are labeled as an enemy, but from those we profess to keep as friends and family.

Fifteen years ago, a naive kid learned what people who give in to fear are capable of. Worse, what they are willing to allow in the name of safety and security.

Fifteen years ago, a boy who thought himself already a man learned first hand what it is like to be lied to and manipulated by his government and his country’s media.

It is worth taking to pause to remember the lives lost on a September day fifteen years ago. For the families of those who lost their lives, what they have had to endure is not something I can truly comprehend, nor do I wish to.

What I mourn for most is us, the collective us being the United States of America, allowing hatred and fear to eclipse liberty and equality in the name of safety and security. In my opinion, that is the most damning defeat of all in this nation’s history.

FIN