Will America's strength and unity survive after initial shock of terrorism?

Editor:

Has reality finally set in on the people of the United States for the first time in many years, or is this something that is just to last for a while? We now have a president who is trying to show he has power just as his father did when he was the leader of this country. How long will his strong leadership appeal to people when his power is not what it may seem? How many times in the past has the government decided to close down our military bases and close down our security systems to allow the free flow of terrorists to walk in our free country, trample our land, destroy our flag, spit on our people and put hurt into this nation?

Are we weak or are we strong? I ask myself this question every day when I see our companies close and people lose their jobs to foreign countries, imports coming into this country and our economy going down the drain for something that our forefathers gave up their lives for.

Is our country going to pull together as it did on Sept. 11, or after so many years apart with people killing their own, robbing from their own, making fun of their own, and turning their backs on their own, are they just now pulling together to help their own?

Does it mean that life has to be lost for people to pull together? Are we turning to each other now for comfort when we could not even speak to one another before? Are we looking for a shoulder to cry on now when we did not have one to cry on before, and will it be there for us if we need it again? Is this a sign from God to wake us up, or is this a sign that we have gotten weak?

May all the people who were lost in the World Trade Center disaster live in the heavens above. May this be the thing that they could not find on Gods earth, and may they find the tranquility that they could not find here. Many family members were left behind in grief and pain. Is our free way of life gone? Are we done with pain or has it just begun?

As I watched in disbelief what happened on Sept. 11, I wondered how this could happen to a great nation like we have. Now that we have faced one terror, are we going to face more, or are we going to really pull together and unite as one nation under God, as the nation that we need to be? I feel we have some strength in ourselves to bring comfort for a short time to the people who have lost loved ones, but do we have the strength to have everlasting love and friendship that we need for our country to survive?

May we build our country back by faith of man and by the faith of God, and let man and woman live the life that they so well deserve. Let us pray to live in peace and let us pray for all in this time of need.

James Davis/Harlem