TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Like most Americans, I watched in horror 10 years ago as the second plane slammed into the World Trade Center towers in New York City. After calling family members on the East Coast and as smoke rose from the wreckage in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, it became clear to me that America and the world in which we live was forever changed.

We can draw many lessons from the tragedy of Sept. 11 and the decade that followed -- some positive, some negative.

Most evident to me is that the resiliency and courage of the American people that has exemplified our nation for well more than two centuries is as strong as ever. In the face of tragedy and despair, Americans from all walks of life came together as one people.

Young men and women enlisted in the military and volunteered to join the fight. Lines to donate blood swelled with citizens who wanted to do their part to aid the recovery. Elementary school classes collected items for the families and first responders hurt by the attacks.

In the decade that followed the attacks, we showed over and over again that the goodness of America and her people can overwhelm any challenge our country faces.

The men and women of the U.S. military displayed similar resiliency and proved once again that our military is the very best in the world. We have the skill, technology and the means to defeat those who wish us ill, and we have seen success after 10 years of war.

Combat operations in Iraq have ended, al-Qaida has been dramatically diminished, and we begin the drawdown from Afghanistan having delivered the ultimate justice to Osama bin Laden. While we must always remain vigilant, our country and our world are undoubtedly safer thanks to the efforts of our Armed Forces and coalition partners.

Our country faces great challenges today as a result of Sept. 11 and the decade that followed. We paid a high price in both blood and treasure. The choices we made, especially the choice to borrow trillions of dollars to pay for the war on terrorism, left our economy facing a fiscal crisis.

Too many of our neighbors can't find jobs, our national debt weighs down our economy, and Washington is too polarized to reach common ground. The President laid out his plan for job creation and economic growth in an address to Congress last week, and in previous columns, I've spelled out my own vision for a long term fix to our economy.

Congress needs to take action now on these priorities so we can regain our footing as a nation. On this 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, let us regain our sense of common purpose, the idea that we are all in this together. Let's once again harness the "can do" spirit of the American people that was displayed so clearly in the wake of the attacks. We can and will come out of these challenging times stronger than ever, but only if we work together as Americans first.

-- Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, is one of four local elected officials writing about their work in The Californian. These are Costa's opinions, not necessarily The Californian's. Next Sunday: State Sen. Michael Rubio, D-Shafter.