The 10-year anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks has come and gone, with much of our nation pausing for solemn reflection on how this changed the world.

Anniversary and commemoration events over the weekend captured a small portion of the patriotism and national pride that swelled after this tragic event.

We hope our entire nation, and especially our elected officials, can take advantage of this and get back to the basics of what it means to be a public servant and what it means to live in America.

Far too many of our politicians seem to have forgotten this and put their own agendas or needs above the greater good.

Hopefully, reflecting on the cowardly attacks that woke us up to the threat of terrorism and also brought us closer together will serve a similar purpose 10 years later.

We owe it to the nearly 3,000 who lost their lives.

It shouldn’t take a tragedy, or an anniversary of one, to do this.

Our nation faces many challenges both domestically and as we better compete in the global economy.

Unemployment, lack of funding for key social service programs like Medicare and health care deficiencies are some of the issues we face.

The only way our nation can overcome these hurdles is by working together and finding the common bonds.