Originally I wrote a post for today about Greek Week 2008, currently taking hold of Miami's campus.  After posting, though, I thought to myself...  Who cares?  Maybe it will provide some small amount of entertainment for anybody that might stumble across it, but today the 7th anniversary of a horrendous attack on our land, killing thousands of innocent people, it isn't even worth mentioning.

I'm sure everybody remember where they were that day.  Most of us were probably at school, acting as if it were any other day.  I'll spare you most of my story, but I can't help but talk about the United Airlines Flight 93 flight that was nearly taken back by the hostages.

That morning, before the attacks went through, there was already a bit of a stir going on around the school.  There was talks about a plane that was flying unusually low above our school.  Of course I passed it off as just an unusual occurrence, but later came to find out that it was in fact the United Airlines Flight that crashed in Pennsylvania.

The United Airlines Flight is one of the more empowering stories we hear about that day.  They were the first ones to fight back.  As soon as they realized that they were not planning on ever landing that plan, they united and fought back against the terrorists.  In doing so, they saved what probably would have been an attack on the White House.  Because of those passengers, the building that has long been a symbol of proof that our experiment in democracy works still stands unharmed since the War of 1812.

What followed the heroism of the Flight 93 passengers was story upon story of how people, ordinary citizens, took it upon themselves to help those in need.  People we hardly give credit in our day to day lives stepped it up that day.  Obviously I'm talking about the NYPD and fire fighters, the people that ran towards the disaster, went into the collapsing buildings to save everyone they could - even if it meant their own life.

In the aftermath of 9-11, we saw one of the greatest surges in national unity and patriotism in the world.  Nothing mattered during that time after the attacks - race, religion, sexual orientation - none of it mattered.  The terrorists attacked us to try and crumble the American spirit by showing a weakness in our defenses.  Instead, we showed them that we can and will unite, just as those passengers of flight 93 did.  Unfortunately, now it seems that 9-11 has split us back apart now that we've been without an attack for 7 years.

9-11 cannot get mentioned without thoughts of the war in Iraq and the current administration.  Yes, I agree with the majority of our nation that we were led to believe that the war in Iraq would be retribution for the terrorist attacks.  At the time, I supported attacking Iraq with the power and thunder of God Almighty to make sure those innocent lives that were lost on 9-11 had their vengeance.  Of course things have changed since then and it turns out that the war in Iraq had nothing to do with 9-11.  But we all know this now, right?  Republicans, Democrats and Independents all know this!  Yet we continue to complain about the current administration as if it is going to magically solve our problems.

In a time where most Americans feel our country has been in a steady decline, I can't help be reminded of a speech from former President Jimmy Carter.  A speech he gave our people when times were tough, and our political parties were bickering without accomplishing anything.  On July 15, 1979, Jimmy Carter quoted the words of an American Citizen visiting Camp David.

"We've got to stop crying and start sweating, stop talking and start walking, stop cursing and start praying. The strength we need will not come from the White House, but from every house in America."

That's exactly how we responded following the attacks.  We cried for the lost, but then we rolled up our sleeves and went to work.  Whether it was the firefighters clearing rubble to save everyone they could, doctors treating victims of the attacks, or regular citizens donating blood or money to help those in need, we had the strength we needed to get through the day.  At night, we would pray for those we lost on that horrific day, wake up the next morning and go to work to prove that the terrorists hadn't one.  That strength didn't come from the White House, it came from every house in America.

Now we're caught in a political limbo.  We know the current President will be gone shortly, yet we keeping talking about what he's done as we await a new president..  Our nights are spent watching the news as politicians fight back and forth for the presidency.  But this day reminds me that the strength we need will not come from the White House, but from every house in America.  I for one think it is indeed time we stop crying about the current administration and start working towards getting America back on track.  I think we should stop the arguing between Democrats and Republicans, so they can start walking back to D.C. and take our government back so it is working for the people. 

After all, this experiment in Democracy, this government of the people, for the people, by the people will only survive with the strength of every house in America.