September 11, 2001: What a Troubled 15-Year-Old Boy Learned About Unity

Twenty-five years after September 11, 2001, I look back not only on the tragedy of that day, but on the lesson it left with me. As a 15-year-old in New York growing up amid poverty, addiction, instability, and conflict, I understood division long before I understood unity. In the days after 9/11, I watched New Yorkers and Americans come together in a way I had never seen before. That experience helped shape the life I live today.

The Fiery Perspective of a New Yorker South of the Border

From Addison, New York, Pastor Jason Joslyn reflects on the Canadian wildfire smoke affecting communities across the border. He calls for compassion, cooperation, and Christian empathy instead of blame, tariffs, or political retaliation during a shared environmental crisis.