Only when we as Americans unite around commonly held values can we strengthen our eternal bond as human beings living for a purpose larger than ourselves.
This is why the UMass Amherst Republican Club (UMRC) holds a 9/11 flag display every September. We do this to honor those who lost their lives on that fateful day. We do this to commemorate their place in American history as symbols of heroism and patriotism. And we do this to make clear that the spirit of Americans - of courage, bravery, and a deep sense of respect for our fellow brothers and sisters - will never waver.
Every year, the UMRC plants flags in the ground on the Library Lawn, next to the Student Union, with each flag signifying the lives of those deceased. In addition, we table the next two days and collect donations for disabled American veterans. This year the UMRC will also be playing "World Trade Center," a movie about the heroic efforts of New York City firefighters and police officers rescuing their fellow countrymen.
The UMRC recognizes that honoring American heroism and bravery, and commemorating those who display such acts, transcends ethnic considerations. It transcends the color of your skin, the amount of money you make and your academic interest. And it most certainly transcends political affiliation.
Which is why the UMRC decided to invite members from the College Democrats, Muslim Students Association and Students Alliance For Israel to participate in planting flags and collecting donations for veterans. Many students from these groups graciously accepted our invitation.
Make no mistake that the UMRC continues to hold true to its political convictions of free markets, a strong national defense and traditional family values. We believe that these are three of the most important pillars for sustaining American excellence at home and abroad.
But we also believe there are more important values deeper than economic policy or defense budgets. Because before we can advance as society, we, as people living on American soil, must establish some common ground with each other so as to discover what values truly unify us as Americans. A ground which places principle over partisanship, timeless values over temporal politicizing, and the eternal soul over ethnic or religious differences.
These are values of courage and bravery, of humility and decency, of respect, hope, and virtue. Values that are universal. And, most important, values that are unequivocally American.
This is why we invited members from clubs of all different political, ethnic and religious affiliations to participate. We can disagree over whether to support the Democratic or Republican Party; we can disagree over whether ethnic grievances against other people are legitimate or not; and of course we can also disagree over institutional religious tenets.
But where we can come to agreement is honoring and cherishing the lives of those lost on 9/11. Many at UMass Amherst have personal connections to these people - some were relatives, others family friends. And of course there were many more who previously had had no connection to the victims beside the fact that they were of our own. Some were American citizens, and some weren't. Some were Republicans, and some were Democrats.
But they were our own. When they died, their immediate family members were not the only people to have lost something that day. All of us lost something as well.
But we gained something also. We gained a greater respect for those who came before us. We gained a greater respect for courage and bravery. And we regained the assurance that nothing will ever overcome the indomitable will and spirit of the American people.
If our commemoration the next two days contributes even in the smallest way to this assurance, then we, the UMRC, feel the 9/11 Flag Display and Commemoration will have succeeded in its mission.
Greg Collins is the president of the UMass Amherst Republican Club. He can be reached at gcollins@student.umass.edu.
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