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Letter: Sept. 11 brought the nation together, but it also sparked divisiveness

(Jordan Miller | The Salt Lake Tribune) Flags fly in a field of 3,000 honoring the victims of 9/11 on Sandy Promenade for the Utah Healing Field event in Sandy on September 11, 2021.

It’s a somber week, indeed. I remember driving to work 20 years ago and hearing about a plane hitting the first tower. In my mind, it was a small plane like one of those in King Kong — that maybe knocked out a few windows. How wrong I was. That morning, we had a photo shoot for our staff Christmas card. It was so hard to smile thinking about the tragedy that was unfolding. But how comforting it was to know that the nation and world had come together as one, even if for only a few weeks.

But, with all due respect for the dead, their families, the first responders, and our country — what I also remember is that that was the day when saber-rattling xenophobia had returned — the likes not seen since WWII. It changed our solidarity into a divisiveness that my generation had never experienced. Our American flag was co-opted by the right wing as their own; flown and exploited by those who have no idea of the real meaning of freedom. In all honesty, I lost my desire to fly it for fear I would look like one of “them.” Call me a snowflake, but in conversations with others, I know I am not alone in this.

Scott Perry, Salt Lake City

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