President Obama declared September 11th a day of “community service and remembrance” now and on every future anniversary of this date.   We have a better idea, one that is more appropriate and applicable to the memory of those who lost their lives on that fateful day; more on this later. 

On the surface, a day of community service sounds like a good thing; an American thing.  In fact, community service is what Americans do by the thousands, even millions, each and every day.  From the very birth of this great nation to today, one thing that has not changed is the willingness of Americans to help fellow Americans in need.  Throughout the history of the United States, in the aftermath of every natural disaster and every atrocious act of violence, there have been countless citizens who volunteer and work tirelessly to supply aid and comfort to victims.  In recent times, we have seen these acts of kindness following hurricanes in the Southeast, during the great floods of the Midwest, during the raging wildfires in California and elsewhere, and of course, in the aftermath of the horrific terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. We are a nation of kind-hearted, generous citizens who serve their fellow countrymen, and the entire world for that matter, when in need.  What motivates us?  Certainly not the federal government.  The motivation comes from within.  It comes from the hearts and human emotion of the American people; the same human emotion that motivated our founders to protect the free will and spirit of future generations, by protecting certain rights in our founding documents so clearly and articulately.   In other words, Americans seem to be born with a knack for helping people.  It’s in our DNA.  We do it better than any other culture throughout history.  And we do it without community organizers.   Americans do not need a day of community service; we have 365 of them already.

The terrorists who attacked us and killed three thousand people on September 11th clearly wanted to cripple our economy.  The World Trade Center was a terrorist target on that day and in the past because of what it represents; world commerce.  The pentagon was a target because of what it represents; the military.  If we really want to honor the memory of those who lost their lives on 9/11/2001, we should make it a day of tax free commerce and remembrance of our military men and women who fought to protect us in the War on Terror. 

A day of tax free commerce:  What better way to “stick it” to the terrorists than to stimulate our economy in a major way, every September 11th.   Place a halt on federal and state taxes for one day on any stocks or other equities purchased on that day; if one purchases stock on September 11th, it should be exempt from capital gains taxes forever.  We should encourage investment bankers to reduce or eliminate their fees for that day.   The Government should enact legislation that would stimulate economic activity any way it can.   If Congress can be creative enough to figure out a way to tax every move we Americans make, it can certainly figure a way to give a one-day abatement from its thievery in the name of honoring the victims of September 11th.

A side benefit of doing this will be the first-hand knowledge our politicians will gain about what Americans are capable of when the shackles of government are removed, even if for only one day.

Let us remember the fallen the way terrorists would not want us to.