From Across the River

FROM ACROSS THE RIVER *


Thoughts from a native New Yorker recently transplanted to New Jersey


[* Written shortly after 9/11/01. Opinions expressed about GW Bush are couched in the tragedy of the time.]

It is still difficult to comprehend the enormity of the devastation. Only when my mind sort of "expands" am I able to fathom what happened on Tuesday - those flashes shake me to my very soul. I truly regret not living in the city at this time, feeling guilty being sheltered here across the river. I understand the effort and volunteerism pouring into Manhattan from across the country and around the world.

It is neither an overstatement nor a knee-jerk reaction to the immediacy of the horror to accept that the world has changed forever. We are witnesses to and participants in a defining event in world history - likely the defining event that will shape the world for the foreseeable future.

Do we all feel personally assaulted and violated? Are we all really so deeply patriotic to feel that such an attack on a tiny part of the US is a personal violation of each and every citizen of the world? I think so.

I am too frightened to cry or get choked up by flashes of Tuesday's horror. Listening to interviews with those desperately searching for lost loved ones is far too painful. What has moved me to tears several times has been the patriotic outpouring across the country and the world. Just now, before sitting down at my computer, I watched for the umpteenth time President Bush's bullhorned remarks to the rescue workers. This time, seeing the faces of the workers shouting "USA" brought tears to my eyes.

Thursday night, ABC did 2 pieces to wrap up one of its hours. You could see that Peter Jennings was near tears after each one. The first was a brief piece on Queen Elizabeth's Coldstream Guards being "ordered" by the Queen to play the "Star Spangled Banner" in front of Buckingham Palace. A tearful crowd stood in silence as the British band played our national anthem. The piece brought tears to my eyes. Following that was a report on the prevalent display of American flags. While a relatively mundane report, it evoked in me a deep sense of patriotism and again tears flowed.

This is the latest example of how a US president rises to the occasion - how the office itself is far bigger than its individual occupant. Despite Bush having been portrayed for so long as no more than a doofus, I am impressed with his performance in this crisis. There is a comforting feeling - shared by him with the rescue workers - to see our president take control and speak for the nation. It's the office that has this effect - not so much the man.

It is chilling to see and hear fighter planes patrolling the skies and warships stationed off our coastline. It is chilling to hear reports that more terrorists bent on further attacks are likely still in the country. It is chilling to learn that one of the hijackers lived in my own town here in New Jersey. It is chilling to be in a war zone. And it is likely that this is our country's immediate future. Will anyone really feel safe anymore? In our history, war and its devastation have always been "over there." Not any more. It is time for America to join the rest of the world in that respect. Imagine what it must have been like for Great Britain during WWII. Imagine what it was like for Great Britain under constant attack by IRA terrorists. Imagine what it is like for Israel – existing for 53 years under the daily threat of war, death and terror.

We have, in so many respects, been a sheltered nation - protected by our natural borders. Not since the War of 1812 have foreign enemy forces wreaked destruction in our country. Since then there has been a sense of invulnerable complacency - allowing us to enjoy freedoms and convenience not possible in other countries. As the world became smaller it was just a matter of time before the US would join the rest of the world in facing destruction and threats of destruction at home from terrorists and fanatics abroad. It was just a matter of time until the US had its own personal interests at heart when discussing and acting on the modern day version of international war - terrorism. How will that threat be deterred or, hopefully, eradicated now that the world's only superpower has taken up the challenge, burden and duty of "saving the world" from its latest threat of extinction? Only leadership, bipartisan Congressional support and unwavering support from a world shocked to its foundations will answer that question.

An immediate military response of some sort will likely come - even if only to show the world that we mean business and to give people a feeling of short-term satisfaction. It is necessary to take that first decisive military action to set a precedent for future actions by the US and its allies around the world.

I am overwhelmed by the outpouring of compassion and support from around the world. If one were to see just these reports, the magnitude of what happened would be clear. It is both ironic and magnificent to see the effect of an event in New York City evoking such an international outpouring of emotion. Yes, of course the attack was on America, but it was those too-often-maligned New Yorkers whose courage, bravery and devastation have captured the attention of the world. New Yorkers have shown the world how magnificent we really are; the world has shown New Yorkers how much it really does care about them, America and humanity.

Wednesday morning I proudly draped a 6 foot long American flag over the railing of my terrace. It was the only flag displayed in our building. Yesterday a few more appeared. Standing on my flag draped terrace, I look out over the Hudson down toward the financial district. Where the twin towers once anchored the city skyline, I see only smoke - smoke portending a different world for all of us.

And I cannot stop watching the news.