At one level I am not surprised to hear this, but it still deserves a brief mention here.

Immediately after the gunman opened fire at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pa., killing 11 worshipers, Americans of all stripes rose up. They expressed their horror, their shock, their grief and even their anger over the anti-Semitic actions of the gunman.

Among those who rushed to the side of these stricken Jewish Americans were Muslim Americans who began raising money to assist the family members of the victims.

This back story fills me with a sense of gratitude, again not that it surprises me. Many of us have known all along that Americans who worship the Islamic faith are every bit as kind-hearted and empathetic as any group of Americans.

Indeed, Muslims have felt their own recrimination from those who react to the hideous horror brought by those who purport to act on behalf of Muslims. These are religious perverts. Yet their perversion is lost on many others.

So, when Muslims react with generosity and grief over the deaths of fellow Americans who happen to worship as Jews, it speaks to the notion that we really are the United States of America.