Address by Vice Mayor Diane Neighbors at the Metro Council's 9/11 Observance 2008
Good Afternoon.
First I would like to thank each of you for being here today. And a special thank you to Councilman Randy Foster. He has worked diligently and faithfully to coordinate this ceremony.
Today we are gathered to remember—to remember day that took us by surprise.
We are gathered to remember those who lost their lives in a matter of moments and those who lost their lives trying to save those who survived.
We are here to remember a time when our country came together to deal with the threat and the disaster.
I am certain that each of us remembers where we were that day and at that moment. I was getting out of an elevator at Cummins Station on my way to a meeting at the offices of Bright Horizons. We were meeting to discuss training for early childhood teachers.
As I got off the elevator there was an office with three televisions in the lobby - - - all showing the plane crashing into the tower.
As our meeting began our discussions were not focused on the training but on the fact that Bright Horizons had a child center near the towers and our eagerness to know if the children and the staff were save.
Did they have to evacuate? How would they contact parents?
Would the parents be there to pick up?
It was a day when we all wanted to know where our loved ones where and if they were safe. I called my widowed father in North Carolina. I called my son who was a junior in college.
We all needed to touch our loved ones and be thankful for their safety. Many were not as fortunate.
There is a quote that says,
“If we are to teach real peace in this world and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children.”
I am afraid that today one of the biggest threats to our city and our country is the loss of many of our teenagers and young adults.
We are losing far too many children to drugs, violence, and crime. Our drop our rate is unacceptable. While the overall crime rates have declined, juvenile crime has increased.
It is a time once again when we need to come together just as we did after 9-11.
Our schools and our police alone cannot solve this problem.
Parents alone cannot solve this problem.
Our city with the leadership of our Mayor has begun the work to address many of the issues that contribute to these problems.
We will need every congregation, every community group coming together- - - just as we did after 9-11.
It will take each of us working together to give ALL of our children hope for the future.
At the celebration of Ross Alderman’s life a prayer was read.
This prayer is one that was sung by those in concentration camps years ago and I think that it has meaning for today.
“I believe with a complete faith,
That someday there will be a world
Of loving care and peace for all
And though that day may be far off
I will work toward it,
For I believe.”