September 11

I was given the honor of addressing our county's legislative body as they met for the first session of this four-year term. I was asked to include a tribute to the people and events of September 11, 2001, in my remarks. Here is what I said.

Thank you Mr. Chairman and Mayor for inviting me to this evening’s activities.

It is interesting and ironic how some events coincide. You, the members of the Dyer County legislative body, have gathered for your first official meeting on the very day that just five years ago men and women gave their lives in the frantic hope of saving others. Tonight we remember our innocent fellows who were minding their own business on the morning of September 11, 2001. Some rushing to work, others on the telephone giving last minute instructions to their children, still more performing the routine tasks just as they did every Tuesday morning - none of them anticipating nor deserving the horrible fate forced upon them. We honor those police officers, firefighters, and other first responders who gave their lives while working to save others. We stand in awe recallling the courage of those passengers who forced Flight 93 into the ground so that their plane would not become another weapon of mass destruction. Tonight, at least in our minds, we wrap our arms around their families and comfort them the best we can with our thoughts and prayers.

Congratulations to each of you as you begin this term of service to which you have been elected. Thank you for willingly stepping into the bulls eye of public critique. Your words and decisions may not always be understood or appreciated by those who don’t see the big picture or by those who can’t be bothered with learning all the facts, but rest assured, your integrity, diligence, and sincere fulfilling of your sworn duties will be appreciated by those who call Dyer County home.

Albert Schweitzer, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952, said, “I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.”

The secret to finding success in this work is not in simply holding the office, but in making life as good as it can possibly be for those who have chosen you.

You will often face difficult and troublesome decisions. May you always be more concerned about the next generation than you are about the next election. May you face each of those coming storms with the same hope that John Adams felt when he told his wife about the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In his letter to her John wrote, "I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure it will cost us to maintain this declaration, and support and defend these states. Yet through all the gloom I see the rays of ravishing light and glory. I can see that the end is worth all the means."

May God grant you wisdom, courage, and a sense of justice as you fulfill your duties – and may you always see those rays of ravishing light and glory that remind you always that the end is worth all the means.


©2006 Doug Ellingsworth