Dear Families and Friends,

Terrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction

On Monday, the 9/11 Public Discourse Project (PDP) will be holding its third panel discussion on terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. This event will address what many feel to be the greatest threat facing our nation: a weapon of mass destruction in the hands of terrorists. Timothy J. Roemer, a former member of the 9/11 Commission and current member of the PDP, will moderate this discussion. Roemer is currently president of the Center for National Policy (CNP) and a distinguished scholar at George Mason University . For twelve years, Roemer served in the U.S. House of Representatives where he was the key author of the legislation to establish the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Please view a flyer for Monday’s panel for a complete list of panelists and topics.

Securing the Homeland

On Tuesday, the 9/11 PDP will hold another panel discussion, this one on the efforts to secure the homeland. The panelists will evaluate the progress made thus far in the areas of national preparedness, border security, and transportation security, and also discuss what still remains to be done. This panel will be moderated by Bob Kerrey, a former member of the 9/11 Commission and current member of the PDP. Kerrey is currently the President of New School University in New York City. He served two terms in the U.S. Senate and one term as the Governor of Nebraska. Please view a flyer for Tuesday’s panel.

For a complete list of PDP events, moderators and news, please click here.

• Take stock of the graduate’s academic and emotional achievement. It is a time to congratulate one another for doing what was needed to reach this point.
• If possible, find a way to include the person who died in some meaningful way. It might be having a favorite food of the person who died or recalling a story related to school – cheering the graduate on during a team game or even fighting over homework.
• Take the time to thank those in your support network – teachers, coaches, friends, family, neighbors - who were particularly helpful in your reaching this milestone.
• Look in all directions.
• Take the time to look back to remember days together with loved ones.
• Look at the here and now to appreciate important relationships and even small day-to-day achievements.
• Look towards the future considering the needs of different individuals in the family.
• Help the graduate take the next steps. When moving to a new school or when meeting new friends, children and teens can benefit from thinking ahead about how to handle private information and answer questions about 9/11.
• It can be helpful to find personal meaning in 9/11, perhaps thinking of a ways to remember or honor the person that died. Such meaning can take different forms; volunteering at an organization that was important to the person who died, following through on a commitment to a parent who always believed in the value of education.

It is natural to be sad and upset on happy occasions when you long to share it with those who have died. Hopefully there are now more bright days than dark, but there is no particular graduation from grief. Understand that throughout life, during times of celebration or even at unexpected times during a routine day, difficult feelings will resurface. Give yourself permission to experience the feelings, realizing the pain is a reminder of the person’s place in your heart.