MI News Minute Podcasts
September 16, 2026 | By Annette Olson
Policy Issues
Culture

Unity

MacIver CEO Annette Olson speaks on the importance of American unity in the wake of 9/11, 25 years later.

Twenty-five years ago, America was attacked. Nearly three thousand lives were lost. First responders and ordinary citizens of every background ran toward the danger. Partisan lines vanished. We were simply Americans.

Democrats and Republicans stood together on the Capitol steps and sang “God Bless America.” Communities across Wisconsin and the nation flew the flag and stood as one. That unity recognized a simple truth: liberty, self-government, and the courage to defend them matter more than our differences.

The challenges today are different, but the duty is the same. A free people do not sit on the sidelines. Honor those who died and those who still serve by staying engaged. Study the issues. Show up. Vote. Demand accountability, because self-government works only when citizens exercise it.

Patriotism belongs to no single party. On this anniversary, remember the unity present in the days and months after September 2001, then put it to work in life and at the ballot box.

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