Cindy Lou Who

I got this feeling when I was listening to the national anthem before the NHL Finals game 6 between the Sharks and the Penguins on the night of the Orlando massacre.

Listening to those beautiful words after the horrific events of that early morning, reminded me of Cindy Lou Who.  You know - the little Who who taught us what Christmas really meant.  The Grinch tried to steal Christmas. He took the presents, the bows, the trees, the ornaments, the food for the feast.  He thought he'd squashed their spirit and their holiday.

Yet he couldn't load the essential element on his sled because it was intangible.  The Grinch couldn't understand why the Whos weren't upset.  He'd taken all of the things he thought were important. Come Christmas morning, though, all the Whos woke up, walked outside, joined hands and sang. Sang to welcome Christmas morning. Sang to be glad to be together and share fellowship and welcome the day. It wasn't about things. It was about people, community, togetherness.

Here in these United States, we feel the same.  We start every sporting event by singing the national anthem.  No matter which side you're rooting for, there's one side we all root for:  our country.

If anyone thinks they can take our freedom and our pride by stealing it, by bombing it, by shooting it up - well, quite frankly, they have another think coming.  Being American, being able to express yourself, being who you truly are, living and loving and pursuing happiness....that's not something you can buy at the store.  And, no, the victims of the Orlando massacre are not things.  Far from it. But terror tries to take freedom. Terror tries to take our souls.  Terror tries to tell us to stay home. Don't go out dancing, don't pursue happiness, be submissive, walk only one line and be only one way. Stay in the proverbial closet.

So let's just be clear:

That is not who we are.

That is not what we do.

We are everyone.  We are every person.  We are gay, straight, white, black, rich, poor, Christian, Jew, Muslim, atheist, young, old, tall, short, nice, mean, blonde, brunette, southern, northern, liberal, conservative, married, single, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, cousins.

You cannot terrorize us.

We will not let you.

We will not stop being who we are and doing what we do.

We will persevere.

We will join hands and celebrate the day and celebrate freedom and sing loudly and boldly.

We will not go away.

We will not quit being American.

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