We Are Americans

Every generation has a "day that will live in infamy". My grandparents had Pearl Harbor Day, my parents had the day Kennedy was shot, and my generation has September 11. (This is not to say that my parents did not experience it as well, because they very much did, it was just a point to how every generations seems to have an event in their life span that will define them.) As we all sit back and remember where we were on that fateful morning, we must remember the days afterward too.

The United States of America, though thrown in a bitter state of mourning and fright, was what it was meant to be - United. Our country's flag flew on houses, on cars, was painted on faces and flew proudly at government buildings. The country pulled together and people from all corners of our land went to New York City to aid in the recovery and removal process. We were Americans.

Even our neighbors to the north, Canada, lent a helping a hand in so many ways we can't imagine. Though it deserves a story all on its own I will tell you to Google "Gander, Newfoundland" and find out for yourself about how the town almost doubled in size with planes that were diverted from the United States after the attack and how the townspeople opened their stores, their houses and their hearts to welcome everyone. I learned about it because of a special piece for the Olympics put together by Tom Brokaw. The people of Gander helped show the world that it doesn't matter where you're from, people of all nations can help.

Unfortunately, as the weeks drew into months, the flags came down, the paintings were hard to find and barely anybody remembered those first few days that we were Americans. Instead, we became warring political parties and a people at war of whether we should be at war. We fell into our same habits that were pre 9-11, forgetting that we were Americans. A few Olympics have come and gone since then and in those brief moments we shared some American pride, but in the end, we have become a country at war. We even argue about who should and shouldn't be let in to the memorial service in New York City.

But in the end we should be Americans. What's an American? In my mind an American is a person who believes in the country that we live in, though not always agreeing with what happens in this country, we believe in the Constitution and the words set forth by our founders. An American has respect for what the flag stands for, for the words in the national anthem and they have pride that we are a country that is over 200 years old. They extend courtesy to our neighbors both foreign and domestic and they are loyal to the red, white and blue. Americans remember the wars that have been fought to begin this country, and to keep it going, and we remember all that have died so we may breathe the air that kept those fateful hearts beating.

Being an American is not just about saying you live in America, it's about living, breathing and understanding where you live and why. It is with the the open hands and hearts that once welcomed in our ancestors, that, come Sunday we should forget about any divisions - race, religion, where we're from, rich, poor and whatever others you may think of, so that

We may be Americans.