We all know where we were on that awful Tuesday.

In the aftermath of the single largest mass murder committed on US soil and the criminal destruction of the Twin Towers of New York City there was a brief period of our American and world response where we experienced a true empathy surplus.

For a brief period, measured by a few days, we united around a compassionate vision of freedom, facilitated by an unambiguous movement of protection and empowerment of each other no matter our political persuasion.

We threw off plutocracy’s authoritarian chains of self-interest and ran toward the towers to embrace our neighbors.

We disobeyed plutocracy’s Marketer-in-Chief’s command to go shopping and ran toward the towers to embrace our neighbors.

We rejected plutocracy’s call to personal responsibility and self-discipline to maximize profits and ran toward the towers to embrace our neighbors.

Every heart was big and we were all caring citizens. We were ALL 1st responders in the uniforms of citizenship as diverse as we all are. We were all focused on protection and empowerment of each other, the focus of true democracy, and many gave their lives to that effort. I can still remember the scores of different kinds of boats that seemed to instantly appear in that harbor ALL headed toward the towers.

The American Dream of a well-functioning democracy, based on empathy and shared responsibility was alive and bright. That vision of hope coupled with determination is the vision of the piloting of Caring Citizens Chapters, an Empathy Surplus Project.

I believe we all are called to a caring citizenship that focuses on re-imagining that American Dream in our own neighborhoods.

I believe we are all called to weekly investment in our 1st Amendment freedom to gather with one another for conversations that matter to identify how to expand our human rights over and above all others.

I believe we are all called to invite one another to this endeavor on a daily and weekly basis by promoting our human rights collaborations.

And, finally, I believe we are all called to implement those human rights promises by direct dialogue with our elected leaders beginning with our closest precinct party representatives.

Strong, caring citizenship can be a legacy of 9/11.