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 On behalf of people I am privileged to represent, not only in
this community but in the 90th District, I want to extend our
deepest condolences and sympathies to anyone who has lost a family
member, or a friend or acquaintance in the tragedy that occurred on
Tuesday.
I also want to express condolences and sympathies to the families of
the firefighters, the rescue workers and the police officers who
paid the highest price they could to save the life of another.
As I look here at the police officers, and firefighters, and rescue
workers, we have in our community, I want to say, "Thank you for
being ever ready to pay that same price."
 In the midst of this
tragedy — make no mistake, it has been a tragedy — I have seen the
brilliance of this country shine in a way I have never seen in my
life. You see, I think the cowards who committed this act made a big
mistake. They underestimated the greatness of this country and the
greatness of this people. They expected us to respond in
selfishness, as they are apt to portray us as a bastion of nothing
more than greed and materialism. Yet they have seen selflessness as
we watched the police officers, and the firefighters, and the rescue
workers, work to the point of exhaustion, risk their lives and
tragically give their lives for another. They expected us to respond
in fear, and yet they’ve seen our greatness shine through as we
respond with the courage forged in the belly of this nation,
beginning with the American Revolution all the way to Operation
Desert Storm, as we hear of military recruiting officers talk of
telephone lines being flooded with volunteers wanting to join the
military and defend and fight for their country. They expected us
to respond with regionalism — to say in the Midwest, and the South,
and the Great Plains, and the West Coast, "Well, that’s New York
City’s problem! That’s Washington D.C.’s problem!" And yet they’ve
seen every citizen in this country step forward and say, "How can I
help? Where do I go? Where do I give money? Where do I give blood?"
They don’t understand that our bonds are not made by proximity of
residence but by the bonds of freedom, justice and democracy.
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They expected us to respond in apathy — to say, "Well it
doesn’t affect me personally. So I go on with my life." And yet
they’ve seen this country, in communities all over this great
land, come together for prayer vigils night, after night, after
night; and patriotic meetings like this one on courthouse steps
all across the country. As I look at this group and as I thought
about visiting the Statue of Liberty last year — and I thought
about the landscape of New York City’s skyline that I looked at
last year that is not there today — I also couldn’t help but
think of the statue and what she stands for — liberty, freedom,
democracy, justice — and I realize the beacon of freedom never
shines so brightly as in the darkest of hours. Just like that
beacon on the shore never shines so brightly as it does in the
middle of the night, in the midst of this tragedy we’ve seen the
greatness of our country shine with a brilliance I’ve not seen
in my lifetime.
Let me close with these thoughts because I think they are all
our thoughts.
I always flew my flag at home, but now I’ll fly it more often.
I always prayed for this country and its leaders, but now I will
pray more fervently and earnestly. I always loved my country,
but now I love it with a deeper passion than I’ve ever had.
I’ve always been proud to be a citizen of this country, but I’ve
never been more proud than I am here today — to be a citizen of the
greatest country, the greatest land, the greatest nation, the
greatest political experiment the world has ever seen, the United
States of America.
Thank you all for coming, for showing your patriotism, your love of
country; and God bless America!
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