On the morning of September 11, 2001, my husband and I were lying in bed before taking our kids to school when Ray turned on the television to watch the morning news. Suddenly, I heard him say, “Oh, my God!” I looked up to see footage of the first plane plowing into the first tower of the World Trade Center.

We were both frozen with shock. Our children gathered in bed with us, and we all stared in disbelief as the events unfolded.

At that moment, it was impossible to know if other cities were also targeted. Beverly Hills High School rests in the shadow of two tall buildings in next-door Century City, and it wasn’t hard to imagine Los Angeles being next. We chose to keep our kids home that day. The whole family watched the television coverage, all day and into the evening.

Like the rest of the nation, we felt a mixture of horror, fear, indignation, and anger, followed by a strong sense of pride as we watched our fellow Americans risk their lives to help others. In the days that followed, miniature American flags appeared on cars across Los Angeles—symbols of unity, born out of shared grief.

So much has happened since then: wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo Bay, Bin Laden’s death, the human toll of service members’ injuries, and the long shadows of terrorism and military intervention. The choices made in response to 9/11 reshaped not only our country’s morale and economy but also how the world views us.

And now, more than two decades later, we face a different kind of violence: the recent assassinations of Minnesota leaders and the public murder of Charlie Kirk have stunned our nation. These attacks, paired with our deep political divisions, reveal a country fractured and weary.

Yet the lesson of 9/11 remains: in our darkest moments, unity matters. Then, we rallied together as Americans. Now, when division runs so deep, we must find ways to come together again—not in uniformity, but in the shared belief that violence cannot define us and fear cannot rule us.

If we talk, if we listen, if we seek common ground, perhaps we can reclaim some of that spirit of unity we once knew. We must try.