We in Florida have now been touched by terrorism. Who knows why this act occurred? Was it ISIS inspired or homophobia? Was the perpetrator of this act insane or not? The reasons that he killed 49 people and wounded 53 more can only be surmised now that he is dead.

Omar Mateen was born in New York and attended high school in Martin County and college in Saint Lucie County. He lived and worked in our midst. We passed him at the mall or sat next to him at Wendy’s. Mateen was one of more than 3 million Muslims that are citizens and residents of the United States. Islam is a religion not a terrorist organization. Only last week the nation mourned the death of an American hero and Muslim, Mohammed Ali. Mateen was employed by a security company and assigned to a gate at a home owners’ association. The same company provides guards at the nuclear power plant on Hutchinson Island. Could he have been assigned to protect the power plant instead? What would have been the ramifications if he were?

We could argue about the availability of guns in our society. We could be debating whether that particular type of rifle should be sold to the general public. The F.B.I. interviewed him twice regarding his radical beliefs. Did the authorities, his employer and his family turn a blind eye to his behavior? This morning it is reported his wife drove him to the club to scope it out and was with him when he bought the ammo. Why didn’t she report it to the authorities?

In the coming days and weeks, Mr. Mateen’s life will be investigated and dissected. His life should be examined in order for us to better understand. But, what we cannot do is succumb to the terror. Terrorists win when we discard our fundamental beliefs in order to have a perceived safety, or when we begin to hate and fear our fellow Americans, or when we presume a religion or a race or an ethnic group is somehow inferior to another. If we, as a nation, do this, then we have lost the fight.

America is synonymous with freedom to the entire world. We are not safer by the loss of our freedoms or beliefs. It is so very important that we do not let terrorism succeed by making us disregard those things that we cherish. America needs to rejoice in our intellectual and political heritage…not curb it. The free expression of views, whether you are at a Trump rally or a college campus, needs to be nourished and protected.

Discrimination in any form cannot be tolerated. In colonial times, Benjamin Franklin railed against German settlers for being stupid and overrunning Pennsylvania. The Irish were thought of as animals and their papist religion was scorned. Italians, Jews and Poles were not treated better. Africans were brought here in slavery. This is our history. Assimilation into the American fabric was and still is the antidote for such intolerance. Similar to President Obama or Donald Trump, Omar Mateen was the son of an immigrant. Success is not determined by lineage but by desire.

It is no different today whether you or your parents were from Mexico or Pakistan. America means freedom. The freedoms to live, work, succeed or fail. The terrorist doesn’t win by killing us. They can’t kill 320 million Americans. Terrorists win when Americans no longer believe in America and our ideals.