9/11 in Berlin

I've spent 9/11 many places since 2001. Walking through Berlin today has been especially moving and thought provoking.

Hundreds, thousands of kids lost their parents that Tuesday morning. This really hits home for me-- I lost my own dad when I was 10 . It mustn't happen again. We deserve to feel safe, and I'm thankful for my friends focused on security-- especially those willing to risk their own lives to protect us.

And yet...you can't walk through this city without constant "in your face" reminders of what can happen when the desire for security gets out of balance.

Memorials to the millions of people-- Jews, Romani and others-- killed by the Nazis. Pictures of a bombed out city, and stories of thousands of civilians who died. The history of the Berlin Wall, and those killed trying to cross it.

None of us ever wants another day like 9/11, and we do what we must to prevent that. But at the same time, let's never make the same mistakes our German cousins made-- letting our fears drive us until our own country is destroyed, and our own hands stained with blood.

It turns out there is hope in this number too. One other interesting thing I realized today. The Berlin Wall fell in 1989, on November 9. And in the European way of marking dates-- first the day, then the month-- that's 9/11 too.Read more