Letters: Let’s ensure next Sept. 11 is a day we can all make a difference

Dear Editor, The September 11th anniversary is always a
sensitive time for the American psyche. The painful emotions that
come from the deep wounds of that tragic day, a day when our nation
suffered a blow from murderous acts of violence, still impact us
all as a free society.
Let’s ensure next Sept. 11 is a day we can all make a difference

Dear Editor, 

The September 11th anniversary is always a sensitive time for the American psyche. The painful emotions that come from the deep wounds of that tragic day, a day when our nation suffered a blow from murderous acts of violence, still impact us all as a free society. We still face often bitter divisiveness in our diverse political and religious views of the causes and consequences of the events of that day a decade ago.

Last Sunday on the 10th anniversary of the attack, people throughout Morgan Hill put up American flags on their homes and watched memorial events of Sept. 11 on television. Perhaps we could have done more.

Perhaps more of our citizens could have joined together to tell those who despise our nation’s values that September 11th is not a day of tragedy for America, but a day of triumph. The terrorists failed. The attacks of Sept. 11 did not destroy America. We still live in a great land that stands for the values of freedom, justice and equality of opportunity.

On the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, I spent many of my hours helping other volunteers of a nonprofit organization clean and paint its headquarters. Later that day, I noticed weeds overgrowing the sidewalk along an East Dunne Avenue city block.

I spent half an hour cutting them down and putting the debris in garbage cans. Doing these activities made me feel a pleasure of the pride of patriotism. It made me realize I can make a tiny bit of the world a tiny bit better. It made me appreciate that as an American, I and every other American have a duty to give value back to our homeland.

I would like to plant a seed of an idea for next year’s Sept. 11 anniversary. On Sept. 11, 2012, I would like for the people of Morgan Hill to make that anniversary a day of difference. We can do this by joining together and working together to make our city a bit better.

We can work together to help various local nonprofit organizations complete projects that need to be done.

We can go find areas of the city where the trash and weeds are accumulating, and work together to clean up these urban blights. And after our work is done, we can meet together at Community Park for a barbecue potluck celebrating our achievements of the day – and also celebrating our common heritage as Americans.

I don’t know of any other community in America that has turned the September 11th anniversary into a day of union of ordinary people, a day of triumph over tragedy, a day of going beyond our differences by making a difference.

Perhaps Morgan Hill a year from now can serve as a shining example for other small towns across the United States that evil will not win in the end, and that the values of freedom and liberty that our American republic is built upon will bloom when we join together to protect them.

Marty Cheek, Morgan Hill

Monterey Road through downtown is fine the way it is

Dear Editor,

Our downtown street and sidewalk configuration is beautiful now, we really don’t want it changed.

Not only would it be very expensive, it would be a traffic nightmare.

Ed and Barb Boni, Morgan Hill

Social Security is not a fraud, it’s the Republican Party

Dear Editor,

First GOP candidate Michele Bachmann calls Social Security “a tremendous fraud.” Then candidate Rick Perry calls it a “Ponzi scheme” and declares it “unconstitutional.”

And they do this while the GOP steals our social security trust fund to pay for tax cuts for the rich.

It’s not Social Security that’s a fraud and a Ponzi scheme. It’s the Republican Party.

Marc Perkel, Gilroy