Let’s not argue today

We didn’t argue on that fateful morning some thirteen years ago. We huddled around television screens. We scrolled the Internet. We gathered in churches to pray. We stood in line to give blood.

We cried. We hugged. We loved. We raised our flags.

For a while, we were not left or right, black or white, gay or straight. We were Americans.

And then in our very human manner, we slowly began to allow life to get back to normal.

President Bush told us the fight would be long and hard. He was right. President Obama has learned that, no, he didn’t end the war in Iraq.

We were attacked on that beautiful September morning by people who hate us just because of who we are.

We were attacked by people who do not want to coexist.

We were attacked by people who do not want us to exist.

We vowed that we would be forever changed. I don’t think we were.

We went back to our bickering. Back to blaming each other for everything else. By some counts we are more polarized than ever.

Even as our President spoke to us last night about the U.S. plan to address the Islamic state that continues to terrorize the Middle East, and that may be coming to a mall near you, we’re not sure we’re in agreement about the best way to do that.

Many question whether or not we’re getting ourselves into another prolonged war for which we are neither prepared, nor desirous of carrying out. It’s a valid question.

But what we know, like we knew on that morning so long ago, is that we can’t turn our back and refuse to respond.

Let’s not argue about that.

And let’s be a little kinder to each other in the process.

Here’s something to think about.

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