"Why do they hate us so much?"
Those were the words millions of Americans asked after September 11, 2001, as we stood together, arms linked and knees bent, seeing after neighbors and accounting for others who went to work in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. First responders marched up flights of burning steps to an unknown doom.
Now, here we are, Dallas, the morning after, with our own Ground Zero. And it hurts like hell. After the attack on peace and innocence, after the hate, and after the horrific tragedy that has claimed five precious lives, how we mourn together and stand together is what will get us through. But "after" and the future are hard to see right now.
Let us show the nation that we honor humanity, and our lives matter to each other. I see them now, no footage required, Dallas police officers rushing toward the sound of gunfire to protect and serve. They responded, as one unit, footsteps racing to restore calm, root out evil. The skyline of beautiful downtown Dallas beamed down on them, they love this city.
How can we honor these fallen law enforcement personnel and those who were injured in the line of duty? We can salute them, pay respects to their families, by responding as they did: One unit, footsteps racing to restore calm, root out evil. We love this city.
Hatred must not win. The question we want the rest of America, and the world, to ask next is, "Why do they love each other so much?"
As Mayor Mike Rawlings and Chief David Brown, stood together, a united front, the two words they used to sum up this horrible "after" are the words we must activate in this fragile, tender moment: COME TOGETHER.
ABOUT THE WRITER
Joyce King is a writer in north Texas and the author of several books. She wrote this for the Dallas Morning News.
