By Barbara Morris
The world has been mesmerized by the tragic enormity of the destruction that took place on Tuesday, Sept. 11. Our country, our state, our city, our borough, and our friends everywhere, have responded with the kind of courage, valor, faith, generosity and true brotherhood — the best of humanity. We cannot imagine that anyone, other than the plotters themselves, would want to inflict more harm to those who have already been so traumatized, and yet, disturbing reports have indicated that has been happening. There have been false reports about explosives planted elsewhere, of notification to loved ones that a victim called from under the debris calling for help, looting, identity theft of victims and their families, and con artists selling dust purportedly from Ground Zero to distraught relatives of the missing and dead.
We have met the best and the worst of humanity up close and personal. I, for one, support our leaders who have promised punishment to the fullest extent of the law to anyone committing such crimes. Our leadership has, in my opinion, been spectacular, as have all those brave, selfless volunteers working at Ground Zero and elsewhere, trying to rescue, to recover, and to clear away the heartbreak. Too many have been lost in the massive effort. Those who have survived have surely been scarred for life in one way or another. We can only hope and pray that the ill wind that blew our way on that fateful day will also have brought us lasting unification of resolve to support the elimination of terrorism in all its forms. Life is short at best. How much nicer it would be for everyone if grievances could be communicated and settled in a civilized way.
Sometimes, however, justice demands retribution, again, to the fullest extent of the law. This, I believe, is a case in point, Already others have begun to demonstrate against retaliation by this country. Would they not try to defend themselves, or their loved ones against some kind of horrific personal attack? They do not support having this country defended and protected. How strange it seems that, after this country has responded more than generously to individuals, groups, and other countries that have been in trouble, some of those recipients of that generosity are now so vocally unsupportive. It boggles my mind!
There is an enormous amount of work to be done and sacrifices to be made. I suspect those people who claim to be unsupportive just do not want to carry their part of the load. I guess there always have been, and will probably continue to be, shirkers or cowards who will change or be forced to accept the consequences. It certainly has been a plus to have SO many come together to commend the leaders who have been a driving force in stabilizing what might have been an even greater catastrophe. Mayor Giuliani, in spite of trying to recover from cancer treatments, has done as much as is humanly possible to steady the course of the city and to reach out to those who are suffering. He has undertaken the job he was elected to perform, above and beyond the call of duty and has been gracious in accepting applause — even to the point of joking that he won’t think things are back to normal until someone starts to boo him again. His suggestion to stay on as mayor a short time more to continue the repair work that has been done should, I believe, be accepted. There is precedence for changing Inauguration Day — at one time it was March 4. If it was changed once, surely it could be changed again, especially in an emergency situation such as this. During that brief period of continuity, the new mayor should, and could, be able to gain invaluable insight that would otherwise be lost. I would hope that, especially under these very extraordinary circumstances, the new mayor would want as much expert help as he can get.
We congratulate all the victors in the primaries and wish those who win the general election the wisdom, strength and courage to fulfill the obligations ahead of them. To our present leaders, we say a great big THANK YOU! We are wishing you the very best. God bless America and all of you.
