Today marks a new age in the American consciousness.

It marks the end of a decade of fractured unity and the beginning of a new age. In the years following 9/11, we collectively banded together in solidarity and cast out those who didn’t fit our idea of a “real” American. Our panic and fear created divisions in our society that hadn’t existed before, and our hyped-up security measures created an us-and-them mentality. Those distinctions have relaxed as time has gone on, but they’ve never gone away.

However, on the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, those divisions dissolved for a time. Americans from all races, religions and credos banded together in remembrance. We stood side-by-side in churches, synagogues and mosques; in community centers and town squares; in schools and businesses and government buildings. Yesterday, everyone from sports fans to art enthusiasts paused to remember the 2,752 people who died in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the field in Shanksville, Penn. As a country, we came together for one single day to mourn our collective loss.

Yesterday’s unity, which existed regardless of labels, is a unity that needs to carry over into the next 10 years.

But please remember, the fight against terrorism is not over. Just because we made it through the 10th anniversary devoid of a successful al Qaeda attack does not mean that there aren’t other plans in the works. Terrorists will not attack us when our defenses are at their peak (as they were yesterday) — they want to hit us when we least expect it. In the past decade, several attempted attacks – including the so-called “underwear bomber” and the Times Square car bomb – have been foiled, but only due to our country’s security diligence.

It is important that we learn from our mistakes and take all threats seriously as we begin the next 10 years. Because while national unity and patriotism were wonderful, it still took a massive loss of life on American soil to spark it.