FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 11, 2025
Independent Center Urges De-escalation in Political Rhetoric, National Reconciliation 24 Years After the September 11 Attacks
WASHINGTON, DC – The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks changed the course of the United States. For a time, elected officials in Washington, and the American people as a whole, set aside partisan politics to fight a common enemy. Today’s atmosphere is markedly different. For many, it feels that we have lost the ability to put aside petty differences to work on the project to create a more perfect union. The founders knew the American Experiment would be a constant struggle. The challenges we have faced during the 236 years since the Constitution have been myriad, and we have continued in that quest to be a beacon of hope for the world.
In remembering the September 11 attacks, Independent Center President Lura Forcum said, “Twenty-four years ago today, 19 terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people on American soil. As confused as the nation was about what happened and why, the weeks after that terrible day brought America together in ways we hadn’t seen since the attack on Pearl Harbor. We put our many differences aside and stood together to seek righteous justice for the people robbed of life on September 11, 2001, and fight the terrible evil that came to our shores.”
Commenting on the political climate today and the thought of Americans coming together like they did after September 11, Forcum said, “Today, the thought of Americans putting their differences aside to come together to fight another evil that seeks to break us is difficult to imagine. We are divided along almost every possible line. Each tragedy that happens in the nation sparks the same question: Have we finally reached the bottom? The escalatory rhetoric that we see after these tragedies is the sad answer that we still don’t know how far we must fall before our political leaders collectively seek to guide us to a place of de-escalation that America so desperately needs at this moment.”
“The Independent Center is committed to de-escalation in our politics and promoting reconciliation in our national discourse. We call on our political leaders, Republican and Democratic alike, to seek this de-escalation and reconciliation. Most Americans lead their own lives by seeking consensus and connection across differences. Political leaders should endeavor to do likewise as they seek a way through dark moments like they did after the tragedy that the nation experienced on September 11, 2001,” Forcum added.
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The Independent Center is the go-to organization for information, research, and engagement with independent voters, who now make up the majority of the electorate. We represent those who are fed up with partisan politics and feel politically homeless. We believe the future is not red or blue; it’s fiscally responsible, socially inclusive, and free to choose the best options for ourselves, our families, and our communities.