Years after the tragedy of September 11, 2001 – a day we will remember as terrorist attack on our people- and on our land; one that killed over 2,990 people and injured over 6,000 others.
I look at the Statue of Liberty located on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City. This copper statue, designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, a French sculptor, was built by Gustave Eiffel and dedicated on October 28, 1886. This was a gift to the United States from the people of France. This statue depicts a robed female figure representing Libertas, the Roman goddess, who bears a torch and a tablet in which is inscribed the date of the American Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776.
The Statue of Liberty – an icon of freedom and of the United States, for many years, has been a welcoming sight to immigrants arriving from abroad.
We now fast forward to the present… after the September 11 attacks we ‘erect’ and aptly name a new memorial as: “Reflecting Absence,” – the memorial is located at the World Trade Center site, the former location of the Twin Towers, which were destroyed during the September 11 attacks. Designed by Israeli architect Michael Arad of Handel Architects.
A nation that has moved from ‘freedom’ to ‘feardom’, what a contrast in who we were and who we’ve become.
Let our Pride lift us and as our wounds heal may We be filled with Wisdom and Strength… I invite my fellow Americans to join me: (America – My Country, ‘Tis of Thee)
“Long may our land be bright with freedom’s HOLY light,
Protect us by THY might, great God our king.”
