I remember vividly how a ghost-white teacher came into my fourth grade classroom, how the students were assembled and how our principal came in to announce what had happened. The scene played out on every television, again and again, slowed down to draw out the moment of horror as one plane, then the other, went hurtling like comets into the World Trade Center.

The sights of people looking for missing family members, of the dead and dying sprawled among the rubble, of the people who chose to fall hundreds of feet to their death rather than be burned alive, branded upon the collective American conscience the stunning tragedy of Sept. 11.

But there was another picture: a group of firefighters raising the American flag, even as debris swirled around them. It reminded us that the indefatigable American resilience which had made America so exceptional was not gone — it was being tested.

And that resilience, the knowledge that we would recover and our will to bring those responsible to justice, galvanized our nation. It brought the country together. We rallied behind the flag, behind the promise that through unity and perseverance we would rise from the ashes of that terrible day as a nation greater than before.

Now, a decade has passed, and where are we? Mired in two of the longest wars we have ever seen and no closer to achieving the vague objective of winning the “War on Terror.” Unstable regimes teeter in power in Iraq and Afghanistan, pulled on both sides by sectarian violence, external pressure and a lack of money.

And back home, what has happened? Instead of letting the unity we discovered on that day carry us into a new decade of political cooperation, national pride and popular interest in our nation’s well-being, we have let our differences divide us into a population of disinterested, apathetic drones, or yelling, demagogic jingoists.

In Washington, the entrenchment of extremist views has taken us to an economic standstill and we stand on the precipice of another recession. Political distortion of the American legacy has taken us to a place where disagreement with the other’s views leads to accusations of “not loving our country.”

And it isn’t just politics that has devolved away from the American ideal. The military underwent two wars to root out terrorism and radicalism. A generation of battle-scarred soldiers comes home in waves after having achieved no significant gains. A private army of mercenaries with no accountability burgeons in Iraq.

And Special Ops activity has grown exponentially, taking on missions in far-flung countries, pursuing objectives we will not hear about for years to come. The transparency of battlefield activity for the average citizen is gone.

In short, the lessons of Sept. 11 have gone unheeded. More than 3,000 people died on our soil, attacked by extremists born and trained an ocean away from us. For a moment, the opportunity hung there for us to grab, to rise from the rubble and turn our country around. The legacy of the day could have been one of pride and hope.

Instead, when the day comes around each year, we look back with immense sadness, anger and regret.

But it doesn’t need to be seen that way forever. On this Sept. 11, the 10th anniversary of that day, look back at the incredible heroics of those who sacrificed their lives to save a few. Remember our collective ability to rally behind the tragedy and find a way to be proud of this country.

Let us remember the lessons of Sept. 11 and hold them as the paragon of our ability, as the apogee of what we can achieve. All it takes is for us to remember.