“The Republic is a dream. Nothing happens unless first a dream.”

— Carl Sandburg

When Americans awoke on September 12, 2001, “I” had turned to “we”. An aura of intense compassion permeated the air. Those who experienced it will never forget how great it was to transcend all the hard feelings that had fractured our nation’s body only days – and for years – before. Prejudices based on politics, race, religion, and class weren’t wiped out – but grief made us see how unimportant all our differences really are. It was a profoundly caring and powerful time.

In the years since then, our animosities have returned with a vengeance. We seem to believe that we can achieve great things without bipartisanship. We don’t listen to each other. We don’t learn from each other. We don’t share with each other. And we never encourage each other. Indulging the belief that one side has all the answers, and the other side is the devil incarnate is childish – and we can’t afford to be childish as society seems to be rushing toward a terrible tipping point.

But we do not have to let virulent intolerance destroy our country. We sense the danger that comes when we are divided by vicious, self-righteous, out-of-control emotions – the very poison that infected the 9/11 plotters – but we don’t know what to do about it. We talk about what unites us and then obsess about what divides us.

We have real enemies. Does a shared tragedy have to be the only way to bring society to its senses? Or can we choose instead to raise our collective sights and go looking for the elusive September 12th Spirit? Can we find that state of mind where generosity of spirit produces real solutions to the grievances that now consume us?

Human beings, standing on different patches of earth, with our unique backgrounds and codes, will never see the same things in the same way. But we can decide to reject hatred and alienation as if our lives depend upon it. We can bring out the best in each other by embracing the ancient Golden Rule enshrined in all cultures as the life preserver it is and hang on for dear life. That may seem farfetched today but nothing happens unless first a dream.

The Twin Towers Alliance has promoted rebuilding the Twin Towers since 2005. It would be a breathtaking affirmation of the respect, achievement, and brotherhood America needs to succeed — because the Twin Towers were never just buildings. They were designed to be “a living symbol of man’s dedication to world peace” and reborn Twin Towers would be a world platform for trading ideas, airing differences, building trust, and championing the pursuit of an ever more perfect union.

The TTA is adamantly bipartisan — not non-partisan — because we know that strong support for rebuilding has always come from both sides of the political divide. It is one thing that both sides can passionately agree on – especially young people. Rebuilding the Twin Towers would bring us together, defeat dysfunction, and catapult civilization to new heights.

A month after the attacks, Osama bin Laden boasted to an Al Jazeera reporter: The values of this Western civilization under the leadership of America have been destroyed. Those awesome symbolic towers that speak of liberty, human rights, and humanity have been destroyed. They have gone up in smoke.

He said, “that speak” – not “that spoke”. And their absence speaks still. Some pundits assume that the Twin Towers were targeted as symbols of American arrogance. But an early comment on the TTA Petition put it best: Terrorism is a war of symbols. That is why the Towers were targeted and that is why they must be rebuilt.”