Mourn....with your head held high.

June 6th, December 7th, April 19th, September 11th. These dates will always be remembered in American history, and honored. Hallowed dates...each marking the anniversary of a terrible day where many lives were lost and many more were changed forever. As with the others, September 11th has proven to be remembered as much for pride as for pain. For it is at these times that Americans never fail to prove their worth. Our values are different day to day but when it matters most, they are noble and true and it is our differences that prove the easiest obstacles to overcome when it is our country, our safety, and our very livelihoods at stake.

Make no mistake, despite the spectral differences in our cultural, religious, ethnic or socio-economic backgrounds, the one thing we always agree on when it matters most is that we are a country whose sovereignty is worth defending more than any nation on earth. As I drove around today and saw the sea of Stars and Stripes at half staff, it was obvious that September 11th will always be a time for mourning. But it will also be a time for pride, a time when we remember our heroes...ordinary men and women who became extraordinary in the face a tragedy unequaled in our history.

And so it is and will always be, that our most terrible day gives way to our finest hour. These hours that make our life of liberty worth living, these hours that prove that we are worthy of the freedom we have so fervently bled and died for, have always come at a high price. But that price has never been so costly as to dissuade us from our noble endeavor, our pursuit of happiness....our right to be free. So on this day, perhaps a little more than others... with a tear in my eye and swollen chest I am proud to be an American.