It's a shame that we had to have a natural disaster to make the people of this country realize how much we need each other. What happened on the East Coast is a wake-up call to all of us here in America. We've enjoyed the good life for so long that we've forgotten how to be humble. God shakes us up every once in a while. We are going to realize that we are "simply caretakers." If we don't try and help each other, things will probably get worse.

If we are going to survive, we must help each other. We must get past our differences. We have a lot of work to do, but we can get it done. We all have responsibilities to ourselves and our fellow citizens of this country. We, the American people, can overcome anything, but we must help each other. We must put God first and the country and it's people next. We can make America strong again, but we, as Americans, must work together. We built this country together and the only that we can keep it strong is all Americans working together and stay humble.

Robert Kirkland Jr.

O'Fallon