Remember to Stand United

When you lose someone you love, it changes your life indefinitely. Their loss creates a void that can never be filled; you remember them at every high and low; and miss them at all things big and small.

But the pain of loss is even more gut-wrenching when it happens as ruthlessly as it did 21 years ago.

On September 11, 2001, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four planes for a series of coordinated suicide attacks. Fueled by hate these militants murdered nearly 3,000 Americans.

Parents, children, friends, and significant others; all killed in cold blood, including some of our very own neighbors who called this County home.

More than two decades later the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil continues to claim lives. In fact, we’ve now lost more people to 9/11 related illnesses and cancers than we did in those attacks.

On behalf of the people of Rockland, I offer my sincerest condolences to the friends and family of the victims, the State of New York, and our nation, still carrying these wounds that will never fully heal. This attack was a test by those who hate us and everything we stand for. In tearing those towers down those terrorists hoped to tear us down… but they failed. Despite the heartache we did not break; Instead, we stood tall in the face of tragedy.

Some say the best way to honor those you lose is by living your best life and be the things you loved most about that person who is gone. Let the anniversary of 9/11 stand as a reminder that we need to enjoy and embrace every day because we never know what tomorrow holds. Live a meaningful life in honor of those we lost that day… and lost since… for in carrying them with us, they will never be forgotten.

If there is one more thing we can do, should do, and need to do, as a country, a county, and a community, is remain as united now as we were then.

Over the past several years our unity has been tested on several grounds, and on our own soil, but I’m proud that after each attack we are reminded that these incidents are isolated and do not reflect the views or beliefs of the many, including here in Rockland.

In honor and memory of all those we lost, we owe it to them to stand together against every act of hate and senseless violence. We are a vibrant and diverse community and that is something to be celebrated.

We are strong – we are resilient and there is no obstacle we cannot overcome.

May God bless all of you, and God bless America.