This is great.  Please pass on to those you know all over the country.  Pay
special attention to the last few sentences  of the piece.

Can't wait till Oct. 5th - GO GOPHERS!
kam
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This is an awesome message -open to full screen to read this one!

  Leonard Pitts Jr. / Syndicated columnist
  The barbarians will learn what America's all about
  By Leonard Pitts Jr.
  Syndicated columnist


  They pay me to tease shades of meaning from social and cultural issues, to
  provide words that help make sense of that which troubles the American
  soul.  But in this moment of airless shock when hot tears sting
disbelieving
  eyes, the only thing I can find to say, the only words that seem to fit,
must be
  addressed to the unknown author of this suffering.  You monster. You
beast. You
  unspeakable bastard.  What lesson did you hope to teach us by your
coward's attack on
 our World Trade Center, our Pentagon, us? What was it you hoped we would
learn?
  Whatever it was, please know that you failed.  Did you want us to respect
your cause?
  You just damned your cause.  Did you want to make us fear? You just
steeled our resolve.
  Did you want to tear us apart?  You just brought us together.  Let me tell
you about my
  people. We are a vast and quarrelsome family, a family rent by racial,
cultural, political
  and class division, but a family nonetheless. We're frivolous, yes,
capable of expending
  tremendous emotional energy on pop cultural minutiae, a singer's revealing
dress, a ball
  team's misfortune, a cartoon mouse.  We're wealthy, too, spoiled by the
ready availability
  of trinkets and material goods, and maybe because of that, we walk through
life with a
  certain sense of blithe entitlement. We are fundamentally decent, though
peace-loving and
  compassionate. We struggle to know the right thing and to do it. And we
are, the
  overwhelming majority of us, people of faith, believers in a just and
loving God.  Some
  people - you, perhaps - think that any or all of this makes us weak.
You're mistaken. We
  are not weak. Indeed, we are strong in ways that cannot be measured by
arsenals.  Yes,
  we're in pain now. We are in mourning and we are in shock. We're still
grappling with the
  unreality of the awful thing you did, still working to make ourselves
understand that this
  isn't a special effect from some Hollywood blockbuster, isn't the plot
development from a
  Tom Clancy novel.  Both in terms of the awful scope of its ambition and
the probable final
  death toll, your attacks are likely to go down as the worst acts of
terrorism in the
  history of the United States and, indeed, the history of the world. You've
bloodied us as
  we have never been bloodied before.  But there's a gulf of difference
between making us
  bloody and making us fall. This is the lesson Japan was taught to its
bitter sorrow the
  last time anyone hit us this hard, the last time anyone brought us such
abrupt and
  monumental pain. When roused, we are righteous in our outrage, terrible in
our force. When
  provoked by this level of barbarism, we will bear any suffering, pay any
cost, go to any
  length, in the pursuit of justice.  I tell you this without fear of
contradiction. I know
  my people, as you, I think, do not. What I know reassures me. It also
causes me to tremble
  with dread of the future.  In days to come, there will be recrimination
and accusation,
  fingers pointing to determine whose failure allowed this to happen and
what can be done to
  prevent it from happening again. There will be heightened security,
misguided talk of
  revoking basic freedoms. We'll go forward from this moment sobered,
chastened, sad. But
  determined, too. Unimaginably determined.  You see, there is steel beneath
this velvet.
  That aspect of our character is seldom understood by people who don't know
us well. On
  this day, the family's bickering is put on hold. As Americans we will
weep, as Americans
  we will mourn, and as Americans, we will rise in defense of all that we
cherish.  Still, I
  keep wondering what it was you hoped to teach us. It occurs to me that
maybe you just
  wanted us to know the depths of your hatred.  If that's the case, consider
the message
  received. And take this message in exchange: You don't know my people. You
don't know what
  we're about. You don't know what you just started.

  BUT YOU ARE ABOUT TO LEARN.