Moments. This is what defines life and the path that we each take. 

Brief, quick, and often incredibly painful moments. For me, I can look back on my life and pick out the moments when it all changed. 

The moment I said “I do” to my best friend and confidant. The moment I first became a mother and held my newborn daughter. The moment I enlisted in the military to serve the country that I love. And the moment that I realized that our great country needed to be protected and our way of life defended. The moment I watched as hundreds of our fellow Americans were brutally murdered by cowards. 

Each moment played heavily on the choices I made in my life, from enlisting and deploying overseas to choosing to move to this amazing state of Iowa. 

On Sept.11, 2001, as the world watched, we weren’t Democrats or Republicans. We weren’t extreme leftists or rightists. We were Americans. We were a Nation in mourning over each and every soul that was lost. 

A nation crying out in pain for the mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers we had lost. We were united. Sadly, that’s been lost. 

Where we once swore we would never forget, instead we have forgotten. Where strangers came together to help one another, instead we are divided. 

The country I love and fought for is becoming a distant memory. We were Americans and we would preserve. Now instead we identify by our political parties. America has lost its way. 

I will always remember Sept. 12 for that was the day when we as a people all stood together. It’s time America found that strength again. It’s time that we stood together and united. 

It’s time that we hold true to that promise to never forget,  not as Republicans or Democrats, but as Americans.

• Jammie Bradshaw, Lone Tree, IA Resident