There is no separatism when this country is attacked. Suddenly, we are all Americans.

Photo: Sara Blevins is the 2002 first-place winner of the Americanism Essay Contest sponsored by the Valley of Huntington, West Virginia. She was presented her winning check by Brother Lawrence O. Childers, 32°, K.C.C.H., Chairman of the Education Committee for the Valley of Huntington.

I always wondered if I would be able to tell my children where I was when a famous event took place. Now, unfortunately, I can tell them I was in my first class of the day on September 11 when the news arrived that America had been attacked by terrorists. As I look back on it, however, I think I'd rather tell them what I did after it was over, than where I was when it happened.

By the time I reached my teen years, I was convinced that patriotism was for World War II veterans and the Daughters of the American Revolution. To me, my generation was a generation of cynics and indifference. After the September 11th attack, I witnessed things I never dreamed I'd see. I watched the entire country pull together and fight a common enemy. I saw my teenage friends stand up for this country in ways I didn't realize could be done. Also, I came to an important realization. I was wrong about my generation.

Schools, businesses, and individuals came together as one and said they were proud of their country. American flags, eagles, and colors appeared on everything from vehicles to billboards to school lockers. It became a faux pas to speak ill of the country or to sit during the Pledge of Allegiance. It seemed everyone had received an instant attitude adjustment.

The people I had considered patriotic before the attack became leaders in a matter of hours. Our school president and other class officers organized donations. Canned food drives, blood drives, toy drives-it seemed everything was possible.

After witnessing these things, I came to realize that there is only one great unifier in this country, and that is our sense of patriotism and nationalism. No one speaks of racism in the United States, when they are fighting a war against terrorism. The rich and the poor do not separately give their blood. Standing in the drive-thru window at Taco Bell, I saw American flags on both high-class sports cars and rusted clunkers. Religious groups did not ask denomination when they prayed for the souls and families of all who perished. There is no separatism when this country is attacked. Suddenly, we are all Americans.

One popular patriotic leader whom we all recognize, Franklin D. Roosevelt, said: "We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression-everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way-everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want-everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear-anywhere in the world." Today, these four freedoms still apply, because although the landscape of the country and attitude of the American people have changed, the spirit of American patriotism has not. That is why we have survived, and why we will continue to do so.