Each year on this date, I use this space to take a moment and remember the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Last year, I even used this space to raise money for the Flight 93 Memorial Fund. I started thinking about what I should do this year way back in July. I thought about the fact that I get dozens of product review offers each week, which could probably easily be turned into giveaways or sponsors. I thought about adding a button to make donations directly. I thought about some of the people I've met who would surely be willing to help. I thought about a lot of things.

But I didn't do anything.

I wasn't sure why, but each time I would think about how to best use this space for 9/11, I became uneasy. I couldn't place my finger on it until two nights ago.

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When I think back to that awful day eight years ago, I mostly remember the emotions associated with what happened. There was fear and uncertainty, terror and concern. As the hours passed, those emotions gave way for sadness and anger, and then outrage and disgust. But as the days began to go by, something happened. There was no real explanation for it, but if you walked out the front door of your house and looked around, you probably felt it, too.

Pride.

I know that when I stood outside our front door and looked around at our neighbor's houses, everywhere I looked I saw American flags flying high. There was a sense that we were all in this crazy thing called life together, and that we needed to put aside differences and work along side one another to make a difference.

When there was a national moment of silence, I stood on our stoop lighting a candle, as did hundreds of our neighbors. Later that night, I looked on as a neighbor who was as radically far-right as they come (hint: he has a morning talk radio show) stood nodding in agreement with another neighbor who was as radically far-left as they come. They may not have agreed on many things, but they respected one another and were willing to hear different opinions. They found commonality and respect for one another in a time of national crisis.

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Remember in the months after 9/11 how the Dixie Chicks got into a LOT of trouble for saying that they were ashamed that George W Bush was from their home state of Texas? It seemed that many people felt that the Office of the President of the United States of America was a position that demanded respect. It didn't matter if you agreed with the man, you simply didn't disrespect him by shouting craziness in the middle of a concert.

Personally, I didn't really see the big deal. They were at a concert with thousands who were there to hear music. The fans weren't there to learn about government policy, become informed on a topic that would certainly effect them, or even in a situation where the line would have lasting impact on their opinion of the President. It was sort of like yelling it from a back porch, but with a little bit of an audience who may or may not even be paying attention. Freedom of speech, and all that.

Some felt the Dixie Chicks had toed a line, a line that shouldn't be crossed. It was a time to show the utmost of respect for all human beings because we had just been reminded just how fragile life can be.

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Fast forward to a few nights ago and President Obama's health care address. In a controlled situation, in a room where everyone who enters agrees to a certain decorum of behavior, at a time when it was one person's turn to explain his side of an issue, a Senator yelled out "You lie."

Maybe you don't see the correlation to the Dixie Chicks and the Bush incident, but I do. If the Dixie Chicks toed a line of being disrespectful towards the President, then the Senator stomped all over that line and then leaned back and spit on it. In some people's eyes, that stomping was OK. It was justifiable. It was something to cheer.

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What happened to us? When did we become a nation so terribly divided that we forgot to show basic respect to other human beings? It's not just that Presidential Address. Tonight at the Farmer's Market it was apparent that people have gotten ruder. More than one grown woman smashed Alexis in the head with their bags because they were in too much of a rush to care if there was anyone in front of them. Twice I was shoved aside by someone who perceived themselves to be in a bigger hurry than me. The sounds of snapping and rude judgment floated through the air.

People have stopped showing each other basic respect.

We have forgotten the lessons of 9/11, and for that, I personally am very ashamed.

(Photo taken in 2008 at the Flight 93 Memorial in Somerset County, PA. More are in my Flickr set.)

You can make donations to the Flight 93 Memorial Fund here.