NBC's political drama the "West Wing" made its contribution to the September 11th awareness the night of October 3. Before the show even started, the cast members pleaded to those watching to make donations to the New York Fire Fighters 911 Disaster Relief Fund, and the New York Police and Fire Widows and Children Benefit Fund. During what would normally be the theme and opening sequence, the addresses of the Twin Tower Fund and the Disaster Relief Fund were shown instead. Then things started off with a proverbial bang.

But first, though many people were sitting in front of their televisions to see the precursor to the season premiere, there are a few who did not. For those few people, I would like to pose the question Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing creator and executive producer) posed to viewers through the character of Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) Islamic Extremist is to Islamic as ______ is to Christianity.

Everyone, including myself, wondered how the writers of the "West Wing" would tackle the recent attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon. Would the fictionalized drama in fact take up where the news had left off? Or would they do something more inventive? They took the inventive road by portraying two different stories intermingling with one another in a beautiful dance. To support these stories were the little known facts of what Afghanistan is really like for those that live and die in the country. One story was straight forward and to the point while the other flirted with ideas on terrorists and their acts against humanity. In this article, I will quote a few of the more important ideas the characters mentioned throughout the show because they made sense and, in some cases, are so obvious they are overlooked in some cases.

In the show, granted it's a dramatic interpretation of what really goes on in the White House, certain facts are brought to life. Such as: women in Afghanistan are not allowed to attend school or hold jobs. Women are not allowed out in public without an escort and can be publicly stoned to death for not wearing a veil, whereas men are forced to grow beards to a certain length and to pray daily.

The show starts off in the FBI field office in Burlington, Vermont. There is a search going on for a man of Arabic descent in connection with the attempted bombing of a New York airport. The name given has four aliases, and one of those aliases happens to work in the White House.

We then progress to the students who were selected to participate in the "Presidential Classroom", meaning, a group of really smart kids received an all expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C. to talk to people who work in the White House. These segments are where most of the thought process happens. Just as the "Presidential Classroom" begins to meet with people, the White House is thrown into Code Black: Crash, meaning the White House has been shut down. No one can get in or out. The students are then brought to the cafeteria where various members of the White House staff talk to them about terrorism and the affects of terrorist acts.

Through the Presidential Classroom, Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff), a Jewish man and head of communications and speech writing brought a political analogy to life, "When you think of Afghanistan, think of Poland. When you think of the Taliban, think of the Nazis. When you think of the citizens of Afghanistan, think of the Jews in concentration camps."

This theory is readily identifiable because throughout our schooling, we are taught about World War II and what happened between the Nazis and the Jews. It's something we already know greatly about. Terrorism is easy to identify as terrorism, but it's rather difficult to understand. Why do they do the things they do? Why do they kill innocent people? In some cases, it's the same reason as why Hitler decided to do a little ethnic cleansing back in the 30's and 40's.

Back to the Arabic man working in the White House. He is pulled aside by the secret service and questioned brutally about everything he had ever done in his life. There was motive in everything, the slightest deviation from a normal life meant he was a criminal. And here's the kicker: He was born and raised in the United States.

Now we know there's a political debate going on in the cafeteria between White House staff members and a bunch of sharp kids, and there's a man being interrogated about his life in a closed off room somewhere in the White House. What does this have to do with September 11th? In theory, lots.

Since the attack on the WTC and the Pentagon, there have been numerous attacks (verbal, emotional and physical) on men, women and children of Arabic and Islamic descent in the United States. One thing, they're American Citizens, most of the younger ones born in the U.S.

Toby's assistant Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe), a man who "dabbles" in theories on terrorists proclaims terrorism is "a 100% failure rate. Not only do terrorist fail at what they're after, they pretty much always succeed in strengthening what they're against."

This statement in relation to September 11th is so true. In the past few weeks, the people of the United States and the world have banded together in outrage and mourning. We are all Americans has become the new theme song and American pride has been taken one step further. Flags fly from every available surface: homes, businesses, cars, clothing, and some patriotic citizens have even painted their cars the home colors of red, white and blue.

The gentleman being held for questioning becomes understandably angry that he's being interrogated just because of his ancestors' nationality, but it doesn't end there. The man's father is brought up in conversation and things really start to heat up.

Meanwhile, the "Presidential Classroom" continues its discussion on terrorism. When asked where terrorists come from, the answer from the White House Staff is simple. From poverty stricken, violence infested areas. Charlie Young (Dule Hill), an Intern in the White House, informed everyone the same conditions thrive here in the U.S. as well. Take a look at Detroit, L.A., and various other cities that have a bad wrap because of gangs. Makes sense, doesn't it? That's what the Taliban is. A very large, very angry gang of men who will do anything to make a score - meaning, anything to get their point across.

As Charlie explains his statement, President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) and the First Lady (Stockard Channing) show up in the cafeteria and gaze in confusion at the students. The President makes an off the record statement about terrorism. "Killing yourself and innocent people to make a point is sick, twisted, brutal, dumbass murder."

In the end, the Code Black: Crash is lifted because they found the man in question in Germany - meaning the gentleman being questioned by the Secret Service was indeed as innocent as we all began to believe.

All in all, this episode was beautifully written and held a powerful note of truth. What is to become of America now that we've been attacked on our own soil? No one knows for sure. There are a thousand variables. But for the long term, we will mourn the loss of so many, but we will hold our heads high and shoulder the pain, always being proud to be an American. And maybe a few years from now, when the wounds have healed into tender scars, we can look back on September 11th and remember the day the earth stood still as the day the world truly became one in mind, heart and soul.

As for the question posed at the beginning of this review: Islamic Extremist is to Islamic as _________ is to Christianity. The answer is the KKK. Think about it.