September 11, 2001 was, for all intents and purposes, supposed to be the start of the rapid death of the United States of America and, by default, the rest of the Western World. The Islamic extremists had engineered an attack so simple yet frighteningly powerful that they had figured by toppling the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the White House they would have stopped America dead in its tracks by crushing what are (were) the symbolic centers of our economy, our defense, and our very nation itself.

Five years have passed since that infamous day, five years that can be looked at as an ongoing series of defining moments of American history. Looking back at where we have been, where we are, and where we are going, one cannot help but take great pride in our nation: Like a phoenix we rose from the ashes and have thrived. Our economy slowed, but it has rebounded and is doing well. Our national defense was shown to be porous, but we strengthened it and now it is we who are on the offensive. Our nation struggled, but the resolve of each and every American has maintained our position as the world’s preeminent power.

This was not to be. Reflect upon 9/11. Take yourself back to that tragic moment five years ago. Think about how you felt and how we as a nation felt. Think about the pure fury of the attacks and their aftermaths. Think about what could have really happened following that day. You’ll find yourself thinking that in theory the terrorists were probably right: America should have come to standstill.

But, it didn’t. The outcomes of the attacks had never occurred as the terrorists intended because they had grossly underestimated the power of the America Way and our ability to fight adversity. Weaker nations and weaker people would have been ruined by such attacks, but we have proved to be so much greater than what the terrorists and many others had given us credit for. There’s something to be said about looking death in the face and persevering.

This could be perceived as a sense of national fearlessness, spiting terrorism’s greatest weapons: fear and the belief of impending threats. It was no doubt hoped by the terror cell that their acts would have created a nation of shut-ins, a mass of people far too fearful to even venture into public. By creating and spreading fear, the 9/11 acts should have stifled personal liberty and the desire to freely partake in society, suffocating our economy and sending us into ruin. It hasn’t. Instead, we freely move about thanks to the protective hand of the government and our own personal diligence.

Along with this indifference to fear comes an uncanny ability to fight on. Our history has been marked by events that called upon our nation’s ability to defend itself and many others. In nearly every occurrence we have been victorious as a direct result of our incomparable desire for freedom and our unyielding need to fight for it. In this conflict against terrorism all Americans – soldiers and civilians alike - have been fighters. By just being who we are and continuing to live the life that our forefathers gave us we have shown powerful character that has deflected terror’s intent. This speaks volumes of what it means to be an American.

On this day, as we reflect upon the struggles and the obstacles we have overcome in the past five years, we can look at our survival as a victory of sorts. Terrorism at a scale beyond that which we had ever known or ever could have imagined deeply stung our nation at first, but ended up being a binding act that brought us all together and made us stronger than ever anticipated. Our enemies may have won a battle that day, but they are most definitely losing the war.