On Sept. 11, as I reflected on the people who died 10 years before and the effect that those events had upon our country, I felt very patriotic. I was proud to be an American, and I thought about how, despite the strong differences of opinion that many Americans have, we are all in this together. I remembered the strong feelings of unity that gripped the United States in the wake of Sept. 11, and I felt that we are one people despite our political differences.

Then the Republican presidential contenders debated in Florida on Tuesday. This most recent debate was marked by some members of the audience cheering at the thought of letting someone without health insurance die.

What has happened to the idea of human dignity, or of treating our fellow people well and helping them when they stumble? Around 50 million Americans are currently uninsured, a disturbingly high number that is partially caused by the high costs of insurance. How can I feel united with people who cheer at the thought of letting someone too poor to afford health insurance die?

Sen. John Tester, D-Mont., has said that he supported health care reform because he and his family were without health insurance for a time, and he knows what it is like. Poor people are not less worthy of healthcare access than the wealthy, and the fact that many in the republican base seem to believe that they are is terrifying.

This is a country founded by immigrants, by people who came to these shores for the opportunity to better their circumstances and build better futures for their families. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

How could the United States have become so bitterly divided 10 years after we felt so united? How could people who care enough about our country’s future that they attend debates in order to help vet presidential candidates passionately support letting poor Americans die for lack of health insurance?

And why were Republican debate watchers enthusiastic when Rick Perry said in a debate last week that he has no doubts about the 234 executions that have occurred in Texas under his watch? Regardless of whether one supports the death penalty, death is never something to be taken lightly. No amount of remorse can bring back a wrongfully executed person, so we need to be sure that those executed are truly guilty. Cameron Todd Willingham, one of the men executed in Texas, is believed to have been innocent, so can we feel comfortable that a potential future president has no qualms about the man’s death?

I am still proud to be an American, for I know that I am blessed to live in a country where I can freely express doubts about my country. I am just concerned that potential future presidents think having doubts about executing the potentially innocent is a sign of weakness. These men (and woman) are pandering to debate watchers who will happily let the poor die, and as voters in the 2012 election, that should terrify us.