Why I’m Teaching My Kids About The Spirit Of 9/12

Today is September 11. And in our house, we’re going to talk about it.

Not because it’s easy. Not because I like reliving it. But because I don’t want my kids to grow up as part of a generation that doesn’t know what 9/11 was, how it changed America, and what Americans did the very next day. Too many of their peers were not alive when it happened. For them, 9/11 is a date in a history book, not a memory. That cannot be enough.

So, we talk about it. Because if you don’t understand 9/11, you can’t understand 9/12. And 9/12 may be the most important lesson I can pass on to them.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, four planes were hijacked by Islamic terrorists. Two were flown into the World Trade Center in New York City. One struck the Pentagon. Another, thanks to the courage of everyday Americans on United Flight 93, crashed into a Pennsylvania field before it could hit the U.S. Capitol. Nearly 3,000 Americans were killed in just a few hours. They were moms and dads, office workers and firefighters, cops and soldiers, priests and business travelers — ordinary people who never came home.

I was in high school that morning. We watched the towers fall on classroom televisions. We were kids at the start of the day, but by the time the final bell rang, we were something else — patriots.

9/11 called an entire generation to grow up overnight. So many of my peers walked out of those classrooms and into recruiting stations. They became Marines, soldiers, cops, and first responders because the attack demanded it. The service members and veterans we thank today? So many of them answered the call that 9/11 put in their hearts.

But my kids’ generation didn’t live through that change. They don’t remember a time when you could walk straight to the gate at the airport, or enter a football game without passing through metal detectors. They don’t know what it was like to carry a bottle of water or a pocket knife in your bag without having it confiscated. To them, the TSA line is normal. Bag checks are normal. “Clear backpacks only” is normal. They don’t know those small freedoms that were taken from them on that day.

So yes, 9/11 gave us a wave of patriotism, but it also reshaped everyday American life. Both things matter. Both are worth remembering.

But here’s why I really want my kids to know the story: because of what happened the next day.

On September 12, America woke up a different nation. Flags went up on porches and front yards. Blood drives stretched around the block. Churches overflowed. Neighbors checked on neighbors. Members of Congress stood shoulder to shoulder on the Capitol steps and sang “God Bless America.”

On September 12, we remembered what it meant to be one nation, under God, indivisible. We were no longer just individuals living separate lives — we were a people united by grief, courage, and conviction. That unity didn’t erase the loss, but it gave us the strength to carry it.

That’s the America I want my kids to know. Not the horror of 9/11, but the spirit of 9/12. A spirit that says when evil strikes, we don’t crumble — we come together. We sacrifice. We pray. We rebuild.

And this is where I speak not just to my kids, but to every young American who wasn’t alive on that day: don’t miss the lesson of 9/12. A moment where we put country above party, neighbors above politics, faith above fear. Right now, too many young people know hashtags more than history, outrage more than patriotism, division more than devotion. We need to show them what unity looks like — not just in times of tragedy, but in the everyday life of a free people.

That’s why we remember. Forgetting dishonors the dead. Forgetting risks repeating history. Forgetting blinds us to what true courage and unity look like.

The heroes of 9/11 weren’t only those in uniform. They were firefighters who climbed the towers, passengers on Flight 93 who stormed the cockpit, cops who ran toward danger, priests who prayed with the dying, and ordinary citizens who found extraordinary strength. That’s the America my kids need to see. That’s the America worth passing on.

So how do we live like 9/11 still matters? We start at home. We teach our kids that freedom isn’t free, that evil exists and must be confronted, that courage is contagious, and that sacrifice is noble. We live it in our communities — by showing up, by serving, by choosing unity over division. And we live it in faith. After 9/11, churches were full because people knew God was bigger than the rubble, stronger than the fear, and the only true source of peace. That hasn’t changed. Our families still need Him. Our country still needs Him.

Why haven’t we had another 9/11? There are complicated answers — yes, our military and intelligence have grown stronger, yes, we built defenses. But the deeper reason is that the world saw what happens when America is attacked: we wake up, we fight back, and we do not forget. The terrorists wanted to break us. Instead, they revealed our strength. They underestimated the American spirit — the same spirit that stormed Normandy, landed on the moon, and rebuilt after Pearl Harbor.

That’s what I want my kids to understand. That remembering 9/11 isn’t about clinging to grief — it’s about carrying forward courage. It’s about being the kind of American who runs toward the fire, who checks on their neighbor, who raises the flag without shame.

Never forget. Not just the terror of 9/11, but the unity of 9/12. That’s the legacy worth passing on. That’s the America worth teaching to our children.

Gates Garcia is the host of the YouTube show and podcast “We The People.” Follow him on Instagram and X @GatesGarciaFL.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.