I wanted to take a few minutes and to say a few things about the terrorist attack that our fellow countrymen in New York endured yesterday. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those impacted by this act of cowardice, especially those who lost their lives and their families.

What happened was an example of how cruel and evil human beings can be to one another. At the same time, it’s an amazing testament to how brave and strong the people of New York are.

The first responders did an amazing job of neutralizing the threat and securing the area to ensure everyone’s safety, with no thought of their own. We all owe them a debt of gratitude, so thank you from the bottom of my heart.

To all my Muslim friends out there, most civilized people know that you are not to blame for the acts of hate committed my extremists. You are an important part of what makes America great and this is your home.

Lastly, I’d just like to say that we shouldn’t use this tragedy for political gain as is clearly happening already. Can we please mourn our dead and lay them to rest before this horrible event is used to push an agenda.

As a society, we need to decide whether or not we are going to tolerate hate. It doesn’t matter where the hate is coming from, because there’s no place for it in this world. At the moment, we don’t have a leader who sees the value in diversity and uses fear to divide us. We cannot let this happen.

As Americans, we need to rise up together and stand up to hate, no matter where it comes from. We must leave this world a better place for our children, than what was left for us.