America's Spirit

      During his sermon at the Washington National Cathedral on the National Day of Prayer and Remembrances for the victims of the terrorist bombings on the World Trade Center in New York, NY and on the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., Dr. Billy Graham drew a parallel between the destruction in New York and society.
      "When damaged, those buildings eventually plummeted to the ground, imploding in a moment's time. Yet underneath the debris is a foundation that was not destroyed," Graham said. 
      With time, the debris will be carted away and something will be rebuilt where the proud twin towers once stood, but today, all is lost, except the foundation.
      There is another foundation that is standing fast,– the firm foundation of dedication and loyalty of the fire fighters, police officers and rescue workers who continue to sift through the rubble, against impossible odds, to try to rescue anyone who is still alive.  Its been over a week of 12 hour shifts since they pulled anyone from their concrete and steel prison, yet they continue to work.
      I would have given up days ago, but not these men and women of steel–they continue on.  They don’t work because their odds of success are high, they work because that’s who they are.  While the rest of us run from trouble and danger, as we should, they run to it.  There is something at the core of their being  that makes them work through exhaustion.  It conquers despair and defeats doubt, at the core of their being–their foundation–is  hope.
      If the terrorist’s goal was to destroy our buildings and kill our  innocent people, they succeeded.  But if their goal was to destroy our foundation–our hope and our resolve, they failed miserably.  Soon they will find out how miserably they failed.