I was flying a stealth fighter when the first plane hit the towers on 9/11. When I returned to base, it took a while for me to process what was happening. I still remember the numbness that I felt over the next several days/weeks, punctuated by grief & depression.

Unfortunately, that’s how I feel today.

As bad as 9/11 was, I feel that our situation today is worse.

On 9/11, we faced a threat of terrorism that was largely external, with some internal aspects. Today, our internal division is our biggest threat, and it is being exacerbated skillfully by state and non-state actors that want to see us weakened & discredited.

Despite some indications, we were largely surprised on 9/11. We cannot say that now. The indications that foretold yesterday’s violence have been manifest for a long time. Yet we still couldn’t stop it.

9/11 was horrible, but it was never a threat to our democratic republic. Only we can be the authors of our last chapter, and we are well on our way. To be clear: It is my personal opinion that we are in danger of losing our republic. Real danger.

After 9/11, we had a short period of time where we could come together as one, and we did. It doesn’t seem likely that we can do that now. Yet we must.

The test of leadership in our generation is now sharply focused: will we rise above our personal interests & political divisions to find a way to rise above? We have to, or this experiment will fail. I’m going to try...