09/21/2001
by Jack FarisThe tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, have left all of us horrified, angry and full of questions. But perhaps more than anything else, those awful terrorist acts have left us with an overwhelming desire to help our fellow Americans rebuild, recover and express our love of country.
While there are many, many tragic stories surrounding the attacks, many uplifting tales of courage, generosity and patriotism have also risen from the rubble at the World Trade Center and Pentagon. As you might expect, Main Street small-business owners have joined all other Americans to do anything and everything they can do to help our nation heal. From Manhattan to small Midwestern towns, Main Street has rallied to help in any possible way.
At ground zero in the New York and Washington areas, reports have emerged about small independent restaurants providing countless free meals to the courageous and selfless rescue and recovery crews who have worked day and night to sift through the rubble, frantically search for survivors, and remove tons of debris.
Thousands of miles away in San Antonio, Texas, Pete Van de Putte and his 50 employees at Dixie Flag Company have worked tirelessly to fill the needs of patriotic Americans who want to show their colors. Pete reports that his supply of full-sized American flags ran out almost immediately after the attacks, so he began the free distribution of every small 4-inch-by-6-inch stick flag he had in stock. He gave away all 10,000 of those small flags within a day of the attacks, so now he's giving away every flag decal sticker he has left, while a constant line of 200 citizens wait patiently in 90-degree Texas heat and all nine of his phone lines ring off the hook.
A similar inspirational story is told along the banks of the Mississippi River, in Quincy, Ill., where, like in most communities, there's also a shortage of American flags. JK Creative Printers lived up to its name and quickly printed 20,000 American flag posters, which were delivered to local firehouses for free distribution. "Our thought was that if this happened in Quincy, our fire fighters would be the heroes, so pick up a flag poster from the fire fighters and tell them thank you," reports Kathy Ridder. After all 20,000 posters were handed out by 8:15 a.m. on the morning they were delivered to the firehouses, JK printed 40,000 more, which were all gone by 5:00 p.m. that afternoon.
These are only a few of the millions of touching stories of humanity and patriotism that no doubt could be told about the hours and days after the terrorist attacks. To find out how you can help the families of the victims, the Red Cross, Salvation Army or FBI, click the links in the righthand column of this page for a list of contact information.
While the terrorists who committed these horrible crimes intended to break the American spirit, what they have actually done is strengthen it. From Main Street to Wall Street, from big cities to small towns, Americans have come together as never before. Our prayers are with the victims and their families, and we will always remember them as we work together to keep the United States a shining beacon of freedom, democracy and free enterprise.
Publications are encouraged to re-print these columns in their entirety. Please ensure that the following credit information is included in re-prints: "Jack Faris is president of NFIB, the nation's largest small business advocacy group. A non-profit, non-partisan organization founded in 1943, NFIB represents the consensus views of its 600,000 members in Washington, D.C., and all 50 state capitals. More information is available on-line at www.nfib.com."
