It is now possible to see why it has taken so long to restore the area where the two giant World Trade Center towers stood. Because there were so many factors to consider in rebuilding the area, decision-making became incredibly complex. But once decisions were made, the rebuilding projects could proceed. Architects, designers, and contractors got to work. The building originally called Freedom Tower (now renamed One World Trade Center) will be the tallest building in America at 1,776 feet. Two smaller towers are also being built. The memorials for the nearly 3,000 people who were murdered on September 11, 2001 have been completed. The museum, beneath the memorials, is in the process of being built as well as the transportation center at the site.
In other words, this site will become the chief visitor attraction in the nation, second only to Washington, D.C. It will enshrine everything that took place on that fateful day when so many lives were taken, so much property destroyed, so many responders scarred with lung problems, having breathed in the incinerated dust as they tried to rescue whomever they could rescue. 343 firefighters and 37 police officers from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey were killed that day by the collapsing towers.
Because there are extensive video records of what happened in New York that beautiful, sunny day, these horrendous images will forever haunt Americans and their friends around the world. Seeing the two airliners, hijacked by Islamic terrorists, crash into the twin towers, will forever be unforgettable for their sheer horror. That was the ghastly reality of September 11, 2001.
The horrors of that day have had one positive effect: Americans have become more patriotic and more religious. That was obvious if you observed the memorial ceremonies that took place on Sunday, September 11, 2011, at Ground Zero, the Pentagon, and at Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The reading of the names of the victims of the Trade Center Towers provided a moving panorama of ethnic America: English, Irish, Latino, Italian, Jewish, Indian, Polish, Chinese, and more.
Nearly 3,000 individuals were murdered that day in the name of Allah by Islamic terrorists, who have forever given the Muslim religion the mark of unadulterated evil. Yes, there are many Muslims who also happen to be decent people. But their religion will forever be suspect and feared by non-Muslims. One of the firemen who survived the horror said that he had now learned how evil evil can be. The idea that a group of Muslims could plan the murder of thousands of innocent human beings in the name of their god, is beyond the comprehension of most people. How could such an act be justified? How could such hatred be justified?
Wafa Sultan, in her revealing book, A God Who Hates, relates how as a child she was taught that Muslims love death and that their enemies love life. To me, that explained the mindset of the Muslim religion, elements of which encourage children to become suicide bombers. On September 11, 2001, 19 Islamic terrorists, after much planning, became suicide bombers, hijacking four airliners and turning them into lethal missiles. Two out of Boston crashed into the Trade Center towers. One out of Dulles Airport crashed into the Pentagon. And a fourth, out of Newark, New Jersey, aimed at a target in Washington, but was thwarted by passengers who tried to regain control of the aircraft, which the Islamists then crashed into the ground at Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Just as Jews have tried to understand how civilized Germans could become systematic murderers of millions of men, women and children, Americans have tried to understand how a religion could motivate 19 men to become such suicidal killers and destroyers. Mosques are being built all over America, and the attempt to build a mosque near Ground Zero has provoked strong opposition.
The sufferings of thousands of families who lost loved ones have created legacies of bereavement and love that will last generations. Each victim is a hero or heroine, including those who jumped to their deaths. The fact is that more than 1,000 bodies were never recovered. And that is why the two square pools located exactly where the two towers stood is the place where families will come to mourn and remember their husbands, wives, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, and friends who perished in the towers.
The names of the victims have been inscribed in bronze along the edges of the pools with the four-sided waterfalls representing the endless sound of eternity. Because so many bodies were burnt to dust in the buildings, the site has become hallowed ground, and will remain a sacred place as long as New York City exists.
Just as the effect of the Holocaust in Europe led to the creation of the State of Israel, so the effect of the suicidal murder of nearly 3,000 individuals has led to the creation of the nation’s newest and greatest monument to liberty and life. The need to constantly reaffirm the heritage of our founding fathers will be met by this magnificent tribute in sorrow and resolve to all Americans who love life and freedom.
The people who were killed in the Twin Towers were family breadwinners, ambitious young equities brokers, secretaries, waiters, chefs, computer experts, financial experts, and simple hardworking people who came to the Towers by the thousands from the surrounding boroughs and suburbs at 7, 8, or 9 a.m. each day to do the jobs that make our economy work. They were the most productive people in our society. And that is why their murders were so devastating to the families and communities they supported.
One of the individuals who read the names at Ground Zero, recalled what her mother had told her: “Love yourself, love others, love life and live it to the fullest.” That’s a philosophy totally opposite to that of the hijackers, an American philosophy reflecting the beliefs of a free, joyous, and generous people.
