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The phrase “never forget” is forever embedded in my mind.

Opinions expressed in columns on The Central Trend are the view of the individual writer and are not the opinion of the entire staff of The Central Trend or the Forest Hills Central staff or administration.

As our minutes with the sun diminish and the weekend weather dips precariously into the low 60s, the same date, as all do, rolls around: Sept. 11. Unlike other dates, even Dec. 7 or July 4, this one passes with much more poignancy. It is imprinted in my mind, in every American’s mind, so much that I think of it every time it’s 9:11 PM or see a New York cityscape.

Each year, a new account reminds me that there is still hope in humanity; each lesson is a testament to the goodness of man. Each time, I feel a barrage of tears trying to escape my glassy eyes. Sometimes they do.

This Sept. 11, I sat in the corner of my English class, listening to the story of the New York Harbor Boatlift.

“Everybody had a little hero in ‘em.”

“It was just everyone doing what they had to do that day.”

“Everyone helped everyone.”

Everyone.

A word that perpetuated throughout the entire video, tenaciously persisting throughout my notes.

Everyone in Manhattan, regardless of political polarity, helped everyone. Sept. 11 is not only a date that reminds me of the capabilities of human intervention, but also the boundlessness of human empathy.

Which brings me to a day that, while it may not immortalize itself in my mind in the same way as Sept. 11, I will at the very least contemplate for a short time frame: yesterday.

Before yesterday, I think I believed assassinations to be something of the past. Not just attempts—real, effectual assassinations. These are reserved for 19th-century opera houses and the roads of Sarajevo, for dictators of empires long since fallen.

Yesterday, however, I was proven wrong.

Charlie Kirk was not someone I looked up to. I frowned upon his haughty viewpoints and his unparalleled condescension. But he did not deserve to die.

The general consensus among my friends is the same, regardless of their political beliefs—an assassination, no matter how much hateful rhetoric the victim infamously spewed, is an unforgivable, horrific act. Any differences were set aside for the sake of respecting someone in death. Yet more evidence of the inherent goodwill of people.

However, contrasting my beliefs are the far too prevalent voices of those who rejoice in his death. In social media comments, Instagram notes, and Tweets—every time I hear or see his name, it is accompanied by pervasive sorrow and a minority, but still existing, celebration.

It is worth noting that Minnesota House democratic leader Melissa Hortman was assassinated in a targeted shooting last June. I didn’t hear about it until today. This was a targeted, political assassination—not a spontaneous or sensational event like Kirk’s. But it still deserves recognition, and thus, a place in this column.

I should be speaking for everyone in the nation when I say that these events are disgusting. That murdering someone is a thousand times as iniquitous as any hateful opinion someone can spread. And that the people who celebrate either of these deaths are vile, corrupt people who don’t deserve the title of human beings.

I pray for Charlie Kirk and his family. I pray for Melissa Hortman, her husband, and her two children. I pray for those killed and affected by the Sept. 11 tragedy.

But mostly I pray for the morality of our nation. I pray for the goodness of man.