The last time America was threatened, Franklin Delano Roosevelt told the nation, "All we have to fear is fear itself." A month after the unspeakable terrorist attacks, it is important for Americans to heed this message from 50 years ago. But it is not our military that needs to hear this; it is the ordinary American citizen that should listen.

This weekend my family came up for the West Virginia game. They were actually somewhat apprehensive, especially after the new terrorist warnings from the FBI. "A big football game would be a nice target," I heard one tailgater say.

My mother also told me what a bad idea going abroad was next year. She felt, like many other relatives of mine, that being an American would automatically make me a target while living in a foreign country. I refuse to listen to her, but I must admit that it seems popular opinion is in agreement with both my mother and the tailgater.

And in reality, they are absolutely right. As we have heard so many times, our world is different after Sept. 11. We have very good reason to question our safety on a daily basis. It seems that we are not only at risk in large groups, but we may even be in danger when we open our mail now. The world can be a scary place for an American. But what is scarier is the fact that these attacks could destroy the very essence of what it means to be American.

I do not worry that terrorists will destroy our entire country, but it seems we may be letting them destroy American ideals. I know of Muslims who no longer wear their traditional ethnic clothing because they fear hate crimes from their neighbors. That is not American. It is imperative that we recognize this is what makes America so great: the fact that Jews, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and atheists can practice their respective religions, and at the same time still be Americans.

People are now often afraid to disagree with politicians, fearing they will be deemed unpatriotic — that is not American. Those who disagree with America's stance are simply showing us why America is so great. We do have the right to speak our minds, unlike those in Afghanistan who can be beaten or killed for saying the wrong word.

We must not be afraid to gather for a common cause. When we all gather in Notre Dame Stadium to cheer on our favorite team, we are undoubtedly at risk. But it is a far greater risk to give up our right to assemble in fear of terrorists and their evil.

America is not great because we have the tallest buildings or the biggest military. There is no doubt that our armed forces will be victorious in the military struggle. However, at the same time, it is up to you and me to make sure that we win the ideological war. We must ensure that freedom of assembly, freedom of religion and freedoms of speech never perish from the earth.

As I explained to my mother this weekend: I may be killed just for being an American abroad, but that is preferable to living in fear of the world. Sept. 11 changed history, but we must not let this terror change what it means to be an American. We cannot let fear change us, and it starts with not changing our daily routines.

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