  In the months following the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, the phrase "united we stand" became a popular saying, almost to the point of becoming a cliche. At the time, I took it to be a war call, a method of intimidation to America's enemies that we were not a people who would allow such an attack to go unpunished. It was an attack plan, a call to arms, and one that resulted in one of the most unifying efforts in American history. During this period, there was a lesser-known clause which I had also heard from time to time: "divided we fall. " Swept up in the wave of patriatism and eagerness to bring those who had attacked us to justice, I paid this phrase little heed.
Indeed, for a short time it seemed that most Americans couldn't even remember a time when we were not united under one cause. Since that "fatefull day", as it has so often been called, almost three years have gone by, and much has changed in our country.
Much of what has occured during that time have become the major issues in the upcoming election; the state of the economy, the reforms made to national security, and the wartime decisions and actions made all seem to be key factors in who Americans will be giving their votes to in November. Of course, as a young, politically-minded American, I share some concern in these election-related areas, and have certianly considered them over the past few months. But to me, a much bigger and more pressing issue has emerged as things have heated up in the States, and that is the unity of our people. Back when the founding fathers of our nation met to fight for and shape a new country, they were not nearly as agreeable and one-minded as many textbook interpretations have led us to sometimes believe. Just like we do today, in the twenty-first century, the revolutionaries of the 1700s had their share of controversies and disagreements.
Whether arguing over how many delegates each state should get in the legislature, where to locate the nation's capitol, or whether the fedralists or the antifedralists had correct notions in regards to state-versus-federal power, the brave men and women who created America were certianly in near constant disagreement. To some modern people, it appears to be miraculous that our country was created at all. How, with all of this disagreement, had their been enough strength to create what quickly became to most powerful nation on earth?
The answer, I believe, is that for all of their differences, our founders were united in a single cause: to create and protect a free and just country. At the end of the day, when the debate hall doors were swung shut and the newly-dubbed Americans made their way back to their homes, they were all united, despite their differences. And when it was time to fight and to protect that which they loved, our brave forefathers thought not of what they disagreed on but rather on what brought them together. This amazing bond between every man and woman in America remained strong. Many times, it waivered slightly, and once - in the Civil War, the darkest of times in history - the forces that drove America apart did, for a brief period, outweigh the bonds pulling it together. But now I ask you: where is this unity that has so long served and empowered our people? What has happened to the bonds that have for so long kept us together? Over the years, America has learned to express itself, to speak out against injustice, and to make loud and unyeilding calls for reform; but despite all that we have learned, we have forgotten to be united, and to stand together as one great people.
I know that this unity is waivering when the entire "Current Events" section of the local bookstore is filled with publications called the President of the United States an idiot or a liar, or when the leaders of our nation are referred to as "stupid white men"; likewise, I can feel it dying when I hear the Democratic National Convention being called the "meeting of our enemy", and when political ads suggest that anti-war means anti-patriotic. The problem, I believe, has developed because many Americans have forgotten two things: first of all, that one can disagree with another while still showing that person respect; and second, that despite our differences, Americans have always and do now share one goal, and that is to make our nation and world the safest, most productive, and most free that it can be.
Too soon have we forgotten that we can express our differences without overshadowing our similarities; too soon have we forgotten that we can hate a man's idea but still love the man; and too soon have we forgotten that the ties that bind us far outnumber and overpower those that would tear us apart.
So now when I say "united we stand", it is more than an empty slogan, more than a call to arms in a desperate time; it is a powerful and all-important reminder that if we hope to achieve anything, we must work towards it together - not as enemies or competitors in a political arena, but rather as sons and daughters of America, and fighters for freedom and justice. Of course, we will sometimes disagree, and we will surely never be in complete agreement; but if hatefulness, negativity, and mudslinging have any place, it is not in the America that I know and love. Above all else, we must not become a people divided. So when asked what you are, do not answer that you are a Democrat or a Republican, a member of the Reform Party or a member of the Green; but rather, answer that you are an American, for only through unity and brotherhood can our individual voices be heard and our beloved freedom be proected. 
