On September 11, 2001, something happened right here in Vermont that went largely unnoticed. That evening, I believe, an example of the highest possible moral acheivement and enlightenment was set by a fellow Vermonter.
Among the passengers on one of the planes from Boston, which disintegrated on impact at the WTC, were the brother and sister in law of Burlington Arch Bishop Kenneth Angell.
That night, less than 12 hours later, a vigil was held in Burlington, hosted by the Arch Bishop. During this vigil, Bishop Angell did something that still awes me to this day. First, like everyone else, he prayed for the victims of the tragedy. THEN HE PRAYED, OUT LOUD AND IN PUBLIC, FOR THE PERPETRATORS OF THE ATTACKS.
Many good Americans, who had no immediate personal loss on that day, have found it difficult to forgive the perpetrators of the attacks even to this day, three years later. Here was someone who had had a personal loss on that day and who had publicly forgiven the perpetrators less than 12 hours later. I consider this to be an extraordinary example of the type of understanding and insight the world needs if it is ever to navigate through its seemingly impenetrable muck and mire.
There are many inspirational stories of heroism from that day, all of them worthy of contemplation and reverance. But for me personally, the story of Bishop Angell's tragedy and his response to it- how he IMMEDIATELY took the highest road one could take-is the most inspiring story. That, and the hope that it represents, is what's foremost in my mind as I look back, three years later.