[Darris McNeely] Have you ever asked the question or had a discussion, what makes a hero? I’ve discussed this with close friends many times through the years, as we look at either stories or real-life people that we come in contact with, and defining a hero – always an interesting discussion.

The fifteenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America are upon us here in 2016. And there is always a great deal of reflection, it seems every year, on the anniversary of 9/11, when nearly 3000 Americans lost their lives in New York, in Washington, and in Pennsylvania. Fifteen years on, people still remember people who – and the stories of individuals who died, who didn’t make it out of either the twin towers in New York City or the Pentagon or the airplane that went down in Shanksville, PA, and as I’ve read many stories about people and the situations that came up on that day, I never cease to be amazed and just touched by the stories of human bravery, of people who were ordinary people – people who could have gotten out of the twin towers, from their offices, and yet they stayed behind and went multiple times up and down stairwells to get their coworkers out, to get those who were in their charge out, and then didn’t make it out themselves.

I’ve talked to people who have – who lost neighbors and close friends. I’ve been to the memorial there in New York City, and as many as you have. And every time we are confronted with the anniversary of 9/11, and again, a story of human bravery, it touches us, it reminds us that we live in a very dangerous world, and all of us probably wonder are we any safer for the trillions of dollars that have been spent on safety for the American homeland.

But bringing it back to the personal level – what makes a hero? It’s a very good question to think about for all of us, as we remember those who did die on 9/11, and life goes on, asking ourselves what might we do? What is it that we do in our everyday lives? Are we honest? Do we live with integrity? Do we have care and concern? Do we have love for one another? Would we lay down our life for another person? Those are all big questions, and none of us really know what we might do when an emergency comes. But coming back to the anniversary of this significant event that still resonates in the psyche of Americans fifteen years later, is a moment for us all to think about what makes a hero.

That’s BT Daily. Join us next time.