Pressdog.com

Ich Bin Ein New Yorker

By Bill Zahren
(Posted 09/13/01)

At long last we know how my father’s generation felt when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. At long last I understand how a 70-year-old man could be moved to tears while telling me what he witnessed on that December day 50 years earlier.

Beyond the revulsion, sadness and rage, this is the time when America shows itself in full measure. These are the times when America throws off the veneer of greed and selfishness that tends to obscure the true nature of our country. These events have jolted us into remembering what really matters. What it really means to be American. Why we are the most powerful nation on earth.

You can see it in the faces of all those thousands of people in New York City and Washington struggling to find the living and reclaim the dead. You can see it in the memory of hundreds of firefighters, police officers and EMS crews who died trying to save total strangers. Thousands of volunteers giving blood, comforting the bereaved, handing water to rescuers. Companies donating millions of dollars worth of supplies to the rescue scenes without a thought. People of all colors, ages and religions across the nation ready to go to New York at a moment’s notice if needed. It all bears witness to the core of America.

These New Yorkers of all ethnic descents -- German, English, African, Arabic, Jewish, Asian, Hispanic and so many more -- have one thing in common. They’re all Americans, as am I. And that means something. I think we’re finding out just how much that means, just as we realize how much we take it for granted.

These last few days I’ve been thinking about a speech President John F. Kennedy gave in West Berlin on June 1963. East German communists had just erected the Berlin Wall, a 12-foot high structure that prevented anyone from crossing into the free West Berlin. In the 27 years it stood, communist killed more than 200 people who tried to cross the wall to freedom. In his 1963 speech, Kennedy held Berlin up as an example of people standing for democracy:

"There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world. Let them come to Berlin. There are some who say that communism is the wave of the future. Let them come to Berlin. And there are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work with the Communists. Let them come to Berlin. And there are even a few who say that it is true that communism is an evil system, but it permits us to make economic progress. Lass' sie nach Berlin kommen. Let them come to Berlin.”

Kennedy closed this brief address by declaring, “All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’ (I am a Berliner)”

I say, for those who think America can be intimidated by terror, let them come to New York. For those who think bombs and hijackings will cause us to surrender our flag, let them come to New York. Whoever thinks self-interest, money, greed and personal power are at the true core of America, let them come to New York. Those who think Americans will run and hide when violence comes home, Lass’ sie nach New York kommen. Let them come to New York.

This is the message from New York, Washington and the whole of America: We will fight you. We will fight you with every cell in our bodies. The thousands who have died to defend our country in the past, the millions of children we zealously protect in the present and the generations of the future demand no less.

We do not seek war and violence, but do not mistake reluctance for inability. We will eagerly rise to meet this challenge. The United States of America will never yield.

Today, all Americans, whenever they may live, are citizens of New York City. And, as an American, I am moved to tears to say, I am a New Yorker.

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