This is an article that was in the commentary section of today's American
> >Statesman.  It was written by Leonard Pitts of the Miami Herald.  It
>pretty
> >well sums up what our response to the people who are responsible for
> >yesterday's hijackings should be.
> >
> >We'll go forward from this moment
> >It's my job to have something to say.
> >They pay me to provide words that help make sense of that which troubles
>the
> >American soul. But in this moment of airless shock when hot tears sting
> >disbelieving eyes, the only thing I can find to say, the only words that
> >seem to fit, must be addressed to the unknown author of this suffering.
> >You monster. You beast. You unspeakable bastard.
> >What lesson did you hope to teach us by your coward's attack on our World
> >Trade Center, our Pentagon, us? What was it you hoped we would learn?
> >Whatever it was, please know that you failed.
> >Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause.
> >Did you want to make us fear? You just steeled our resolve.
> >Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together.
> >Let me tell you about my people. We are a vast and quarrelsome family, a
> >family rent by racial, social, political and class division, but a family
> >nonetheless. We're frivolous, yes, capable of expending tremendous
>emotional
> >energy on pop cultural minutiae -- a singer's revealing dress, a ball
>team's
> >misfortune, a cartoon mouse. We're wealthy, too, spoiled by the ready
> >availability of trinkets and material goods, and maybe because of that,
>we
> >walk through life with a certain sense of blithe entitlement. We are
> >fundamentally decent, though -- peace-loving and compassionate. We
>struggle
> >to know the right thing and to do it. And we are, the overwhelming
>majority
> >of us, people of faith, believers in a just and loving God.
> >Some people -- you, perhaps -- think that any or all of this makes us
>weak.
> >You're mistaken. We are not weak. Indeed, we are strong in ways that
>cannot
> >be measured by arsenals.
> >IN PAIN
> >Yes, we're in pain now. We are in mourning and we are in shock. We're
>still
> >grappling with the unreality of the awful thing you did, still working to
> >make ourselves understand that this isn't a special effect from some
> >Hollywood blockbuster, isn't the plot development from a Tom Clancy
>novel.
> >Both in terms of the awful scope of their ambition and the probable final
> >death toll, your attacks are likely to go down as the worst acts of
> >terrorism in the history of the United States and, probably, the history
>of
> >the world. You've bloodied us as we have never been bloodied before.
> >But there's a gulf of difference between making us bloody and making us
> >fall. This is the lesson Japan was taught to its bitter sorrow the last
>time
> >anyone hit us this hard, the last time anyone brought us such abrupt and
> >monumental pain. When roused, we are righteous in our outrage, terrible
>in
> >our force. When provoked by this level of barbarism, we will bear any
> >suffering, pay any cost, go to any length, in the pursuit of justice.
> >I tell you this without fear of contradiction. I know my people, as you,
>I
> >think, do not. What I know reassures me. It also causes me to tremble
>with
> >dread of the future.

> >In the days to come, there will be recrimination and accusation, fingers
> >pointing to determine whose failure allowed this to happen and what can
>be
> >done to prevent it from happening again. There will be heightened
>security,
> >misguided talk of revoking basic freedoms. We'll go forward from this
>moment
> >sobered, chastened, sad. But determined, too. Unimaginably determined.
> >THE STEEL IN US
> >You see, the steel in us is not always readily apparent. That aspect of
>our
> >character is seldom understood by people who don't know us well. On this
> >day, the family's bickering is put on hold.
> >As Americans we will weep, as Americans we will mourn, and as Americans,
>we
> >will rise in defense of all that we cherish.
> >So I ask again: What was it you hoped to teach us? It occurs to me that
> >maybe you just wanted us to know the depths of your hatred. If that's the
> >case, consider the message received. And take this message in exchange:
>You
> >don't know my people. You don't know what we're capable of. You don't
>know
> >what you just started.
> >But you're about to learn.

That article says it better than I have heard ANYONE say it.  Thank you for posting it.  I hope everyone on this board reads this post, and that it will help to unite those among us who have been bickering amongst ourselves these last few days.  We are a nation of strong and valiant people.  We are the UNITED States of America.  Emphasis on the word UNITED.  No one, no matter how barbaric their actions, can take that away from us.

btt

Let's keep this one around awhile.......BTT

BTT

Changed the name

We need to keep this one at the top until every member reads this.

btt

Here's a link to the original commentary:

[url]http://www.miami.com/herald/content/opinion/opcol/digdocs/008591.htm[/url]