Last week marked a milestone anniversary for one of the most significant events of my lifetime. Friday, Sept. 11, was the 25th anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in American history that left our nation traumatized and nearly 3,000 families reeling from the loss of a loved one in an unimaginable horror.

I was on a Tuesday morning women’s bowling league in Broken Bow at the time, and as we began to see what was unfolding on the TV screens overhead, the lanes went silent. A group of women of all ages, most of whom were moms and grandmas, sat glued to the screens, tears filling our eyes as we tried to process what we were witnessing. Moved by fear of what might be coming next and a range of other emotions, we quickly packed up our belongings and headed for home.

The hours, days, and weeks that followed the attack of Sept. 11, 2001, were unlike anything I have ever experienced. I felt a heaviness that was different from what I had ever felt. While I didn’t personally know anyone involved in the attack, it affected me much more deeply than I would have imagined. Our nation - our people - were under attack just for who we are.

And that was difficult to comprehend.

Now Sept. 11 is referred to as Patriot Day. A joint resolution between the Senate and House of Representatives, enacted just two months after the attack, established that designation to ensure the American people would never forget what happened.

A lot has changed in the past 25 years. For the next few months after the terrorist attacks, there was a level of unity and patriotism that I am not sure our nation had ever experienced. For probably the first time in our country’s history, there were no cultural or ethnic divisions. We were all…Americans. As it should be.

We now live in a society that coddles our young people so much we basically let them believe and accept whatever “truth” they choose, about themselves and about others. Historical facts that are deemed offensive to some segments of our population have been distorted or removed altogether. Even the events of 9/11 have been presented in a more delicate light so as not to portray a specific nationality or religious sect as hateful.

Naturally, we want to try to shield our children from seeing and hearing things that could be scary or traumatic for them. But not at the expense of denying truth. Our nation came under attack because al-Qaeda hates Americans. That is a fact. We had 2,977 victims to prove it. I have shared the details of that day with my grandchildren, age-appropriately, of course. I don’t know if they are taught about it in school, but I want them to know the truth.

May we never, ever, forget.