Yesterday your W Team went sprinting about the countryside.

As everyone knows, George W. Bush is more than a mere President, he is a role model, an exemplar of all that is finest in humankind; and thus we seek to emulate him in all things and in all ways. And never do we feel closer to the paragon of Presidents than when a-jogging.

It is then, while loping, trotting, cantering and galloping in the semi-fresh and occasionally pure air, feeling the graveled tread beneath our Nike'd feet, that the dross of prosaic life falls away like aluminum siding from a cheap double-wide, and perspective is restored.

And, as it happened on this particular dross-less day, we were emulating the Commander-in-Chief something fierce (i.e., running backwards and hurling taunts and jeers at the slower staff,) reflecting as we did so on several aspects of last week's commemoration of the one-year anniversary of our national tragedy.

For one thing, we realized there hadn't been nearly as much patriotic hoopla as we had expected. There were times, especially around 3:00 AM, when whole minutes (five to be exact) went by without a single mention of the 9/11 attacks. One network even cut into its early-morning commentathon to air a two-minute commercial that had not even one flag in it. And the general sense of decorum was tastefully maintained in the numerous 9/11-themed automotive sales, insurance ads and similarly refined commercial observances.

Apparently we've put all that behind us.

But the question that most occupied our thoughts was-and we can't imagine why no one else thought to ask this--what, if anything, about America has changed as a result of 9/11?

Well, just everything, that's all!

First, the immediate global outpouring of sympathy for America only confirmed our belief that we were part of a vast global family, and strengthened our resolve to prevent such a thing from ever happening again, by laboring to achieve even stronger ties with our sibling nations-be they friend or no.

Second, the sheer scale of the tragedy encouraged us to look beyond easy, specious causes and to focus instead not on the perpetrators, but on the individuals and nations who might regard the madmen's actions as, to be sure, unjustified but perhaps to some degree understandable. As a result we came to see that some of our own actions might to others appear unjustified. We asked the question "Why do they hate us?" and to our horror found that "they" were not entirely wrong to do so. And where they were right we endeavored to improve ourselves, and where they were wrong we tried to help them understand us.

Third, we looked inward to the vast and growing American Islamic community, and we saw that whatever their international counterparts might think, they at least had thrown their lot in with America, and for that they were treasured and shown great respect.

And last, the deaths of so many served to emphasize how precious is each individual life, and that realization caused us to hold even more dear the concepts of individual dignity, freedom and liberty. Thus we proved that America is too great a nation to surrender its ideals to fear.

In sum, the events of September 11^th ushered in an age of international understanding and cooperation, and brought about a new America newly committed to upholding its responsibilities as a member of the community of nations, and one even more fiercely determined to preserve its founding ethos.

Boy! Good thing Klaatu and Gort arrived when they did! (A tip: be sure to say "Klaatu barata nikto" BEFORE Gort's visor goes up.)

Still, it's scary to think about the alternative. Suppose instead, we had made up petty and meaningless reasons for the attacks; taken no responsibility for what happened; given into mindless racial hatred and bigoted and cathartic vengeance; made war on any scapegoat we could find and come to fear our own shadows. Suppose we had learned nothing.

Doesn't bear thinking about.

Cheers, folks

Hank

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