Inspiring Resilience: 911 Quotes to Lift Your Spirit

"With almost no time to decide, [your loved ones] gave the entire country an incalculable gift. They saved the Capitol from attack. They saved God knows how many lives. They saved the terrorists from claiming the symbolic victory of smashing the center of American government. … They allowed us to survive as a country that could fight terror and still maintain liberty and still welcome people from all over the world from every religion and race and culture as long as they shared our values, because ordinary people given no time at all to decide did the right thing."

- Former President Bill Clinton

"My father was the best person I have ever known and though he was taken from me on that day, nothing and no one will ever be able to take away the eight years and two days of my life that I shared with him. After my father died, and after I lost so much, I promised myself that I would never lose who I am as a person – the person that my father brought me up to be. … If you owe someone an apology, tell them you are sorry today. If someone asks for your forgiveness, forgive them. Start being the person you always wanted to be today and don’t waste your time worrying about tomorrow."

- Mary Kate McErlean

"September 11 was, and remains, above all an immense human tragedy. But September 11 also posed a momentous and deliberate challenge not just to America but to the world at large. The target of the terrorists was not only New York and Washington but the very values of freedom, tolerance and decency which underpin our way of life."

- Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair

"Now, we have inscribed a new memory alongside those others. It’s a memory of tragedy and shock, of loss and mourning. But not only of loss and mourning. It’s also a memory of bravery and self-sacrifice, and the love that lays down its life for a friend—even a friend whose name it never knew."

- George W. Bush

"One of the worst days in America’s history saw some of the bravest acts in Americans’ history. We’ll always honor the heroes of 9/11. And here at this hallowed place, we pledge that we will never forget their sacrifice."

- Former President George W. Bush

"I give speeches around the country. I tell how Stanley and I made our way out of the tower. Life is precious, I tell them. It can be gone in an instant."

- Brian Clark

"For me and my family personally, September 11 was a reminder that life is fleeting, impermanent, and uncertain. Therefore, we must make use of every moment and nurture it with affection, tenderness, beauty, creativity, and laughter."

- Deepak Chopra

"True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else."

- Clarence Darrow

"Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children."

- George W. Bush

"What separates us from the animals, what separates us from the chaos, is our ability to mourn people we’ve never met."

- David Levithan

"September 11, 2001, revealed heroism in ordinary people who might have gone through their lives never called upon to demonstrate the extent of their courage."

- Geraldine Brooks

"We will win this struggle—not for glory, nor wealth, nor power, but for justice, for freedom, and for peace… so help us God."

- Tom Harkin

"Remember the hours after Sept. 11 when we came together as one! It was the worst day we have ever seen, but it brought out the best in all of us."

- John Kerry

"America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand."

- Harry Truman

"Americans never quit."

- Douglas MacArthur

"Ten years have passed since a perfect blue sky morning turned into the blackest of nights. Since then we’ve lived in sunshine and in shadow, and although we can never unsee what happened here, we can also see that children who lost their parents have grown into young adults, grandchildren have been born and good works and public service have taken root to honor those we loved and lost."

- Michael Bloomberg

"September 11 impressed upon us that life is a precious gift…. And I think we all have a duty to devote at least a small portion of our daily lives to ensuring that neither America nor the world ever forgets September 11."

- Bill Frist

"On September 11, I always take the day off. I want to be in a peaceful quiet place praying. It is a day I both mourn and celebrate."

- Genelle Guzman-McMillan

"The lesson of 9/11 is that America is truly exceptional. We withstood the worst attack of our history, intended by our enemies to destroy us. Instead, it drew us closer and made us more united. Our love for freedom and one another has given us a strength that surprised even ourselves."

- Rudy Giuliani

"The attacks of September 11th were intended to break our spirit. Instead we have emerged stronger and more unified. We feel renewed devotion to the principles of political, economic and religious freedom, the rule of law and respect for human life. We are more determined than ever to live our lives in freedom."

- Rudy Giuliani

"You can be sure that the American spirit will prevail over this tragedy."

- Colin Powell

"Even the smallest act of service, the simplest act of kindness, is a way to honor those we lost, a way to reclaim that spirit of unity that followed 9/11."

- Barack Obama

"On that terrible day, a nation became a neighborhood, all Americans became New Yorkers."

- Jeff Parness

"When Americans lend a hand to one another, nothing is impossible. We’re not about what happened on 9/11. We’re about what happened on 9/12."

- Robert Reeg

"If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no time for hate."

- Sandy Dahl

"September 11 is one of our worst days but it brought out the best in us. It unified us as a country and showed our charitable instincts and reminded us of what we stood for and stand for."

- Lamar Alexander

"Remember the hours after September 11 when we came together as one! It was the worst day we have ever seen, but it brought out the best in all of us."

- John Kerry

"The attacks of September 11 were intended to break our spirit. Instead, we have emerged stronger and more unified."

- Rudy Giuliani

"Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness."

- Desmond Tutu

"The devastating punch we took on September 11 still reverberates throughout American society."

- Tom Harkin

"We will win this struggle — not for glory, nor wealth, nor power, but for justice, for freedom, and for peace… so help us God."

- John Madden

"In the aftermath of 9/11, we were not defined by the tragedy, but by our response."

"The bravery of the heroes of 9/11 reminds us that we are stronger together."

"We rose from the ashes stronger, braver, and more united than ever."

"The attacks aimed to divide us, but they brought us closer together."

"It’s the nature of the world that most people have moved on, but the people directly involved with 9/11, for them, twice a day it’s 9/11."

"Let us not mourn for too long, but rather honor the fallen by living lives worthy of their sacrifice."