Three years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, we remain a country divided.

About half of us support President George Bush. About half of us back his Democratic challenger, John Kerry. The decision to go to war with Iraq doesn’t enjoy the favor now as it did during the rush to Baghdad last year. Even those who defend the president’s decision to invade Iraq are uneasy about an American death toll that surpassed 1,000 this week. Hate from the right toward Bill Clinton has been replaced by hate from the left toward George W. Bush. We remain a country of blue urban areas and red rural ones.

Did we learn lessons learned from 9/11? Did any good emerge from the smoke and fire of that infamous day? Can we agree on anything?

The answer to all three questions is yes.

We learned we needed to be prepared and to take the fight to the terrorists. We saw we could remain a free, strong country with open borders and dialogue despite a war with a faceless enemy who has no qualms about butchering innocent men, women and children. We agree we did a good thing by removing the Taliban and Saddam Hussein from power – and dismantling the terrorist infrastructure in Afghanistan.

We know what divides us: the presidential election, the Iraq war, social issues such as abortion, gay marriage and stem-cell research. As we observe this anniversary, we should pause to consider what still unites us and the good that has occurred since the 9/11 attacks.

In a rabidly partisan atmosphere, we’ve remained free, albeit not as free as we were three years ago. The security guards at our airports, Homeland Security alerts and the virtual locked-down status of the nation’s Capitol are reminders that we live in perilous times. Yet, we have survived the knee-jerk imposition of the Patriot Act and had frank discussions about its excesses.

We saw a panel of Democrats and Republicans review the military and intelligence breakdown that enabled 9/11 to happen, dole out criticism for the tragedy evenhandedly and offer a catalogue of recommendations to prevent it from happening again. By executive order late last month, President Bush signed off on two key recommendations of the 9/ll attacks: creation of a strong national intelligence director and a unifying national counterterrorism center to handle intelligence. Both changes are overdue and welcome.

Importantly, in the last three years, our military, law enforcement and intelligence personnel have prevented another significant attack on our soil. We have shown our commitment to human rights by distinguishing between the terrorists who have perverted the Islamic religion for their foul purposes and the loyal Muslims who love this country. We have decimated al Qaeda’s leadership, although Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri remain at large to foment new cells and terror.

We’re no longer as innocent or ignorant today as we were on Sept. 10, 2001. We know there’s a terrible enemy out there who will sacrifice his sons and daughters to slaughter people and intimidate countries. We know more about what motivates them.

Borrowing from Scripture, at the Republican convention of June 1858, President Lincoln laid down this principle: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” We’re divided in so many ways. But we’re united in several crucial ways. The power of our nation is its ability to withstand debate and find resolution because we believe in the larger ideals of freedom and democracy that transcend terrorist acts, war and presidents. United by these twin principles, we’ve stood together for three dark years. We will continue to stand.