Remarks by Mayor Greg Nickels
September 11th Anniversary

September 11, 2002

Calendar of Events   |   Mayor's Invitation

Throughout history, ordinary people have been made heroes by extraordinary times.

The 11th of September was a quiet autumn morning. The sun glimmered off Manhattan’s tallest buildings, and as the West Coast lay slumbered in its beds... America was forever changed.

This extraordinary event brought out the extraordinary in so many.

Of the thousands that died at the World Trade Center - 343 were firefighters. Imagine what that means. They made a choice. They answered a call for help.

Those 300 rushed through streets of chaos. They looked up at those burning buildings, and made a choice. They strapped equipment to their backs, and headed nto the smoke…never to be seen again.

We will never know the extent of the heroism expressed on that autumn day.

But Sept 11th taught us to appreciate the things we took for granted everyday.

September 11 re-awakened us to what had almost become too familiar. The everyday things around us: Our families. Our neighborhoods. And our communities. These things make America great. For like any family, the American family heals from the inside out. Each of our lives begin with our families, neighborhoods and communities, and this is where America begins... where heroes are made.

[The mayor thanks emergency services workers, especially the men and women of the Seattle Fire Department and the Seattle Police Department and the Washington State Patrol for keeping us safe.]

Real heroes do not ride into town or possess super human strength. They are everyday people born into communities. Places where heroes learn to do good.

September 11th gave us a new-found appreciation for neighbors who work jobs both humble and grand.

The immigrant who runs the dry cleaners 6 days a week so that his children can attend college.

The teacher who raises not only 3 of her own kids but 30 of ours.

These people also make choices everyday. And while these choices are not as bold as entering a burning building, they make a quiet difference in our lives.

Through these choices they express their patriotism.

The simple patriotism of duty and hard work.

In the aftermath, we realized that heroes are everyday Americans - who define through their daily tasks and daily choices the simple patriotism of duty and hard work.

The tragedy of September 11th re-awakened that sense of community. We can pay tribute to those we lost by re-kindling those American values of family and neighborhood.

My friends, America begins in places like this, and her spirit is re-born in times such as these. This tragedy has awakened the American family and by its spirit we will transform the world.

Thank you and may God Bless America, and our home, Seattle.