Is today still September 12?

As we go through an indeterminate period of time separated from the normal rhythm of our lives, Americans are going to be forced to consider what’s most important to them. The answer, so far, appears to be family, community, and a sense of decency—whether it’s in the heroism of health-care workers or in the video that your friend shared of some random act of kindness. Our politics and government should reflect that decency in the priorities we set at home and the actions we take abroad.

9/11 No Longer Defines Our World – The Atlantic

“When a mosque burns, a Texas town defies national divisions”

“Everyone knows everybody, I know several members of the mosque, and we felt for them,” Robert Loeb, the president of Temple Bnai Israel, tells Forward.com. “When a calamity like this happens, we have to stand together.”

“Jewish community members walked into my home and gave me a key to the synagogue,” Shahid Hashmi, a surgeon and one of the founders of the mosque, told the New York Times.

And therein lies the key to defying the divisiveness of America. Everyone knew each other.

By Bob Collins of MPR