Tentative
plans for rebuilding at the site of the World Trade Center towers have
now been released by the Lower Manhattan Development Corp.
None of the proposals inspire any sense of awe or the feeling
that what is being planned is just right for that hallowed ground.
The property on which the towers stood is owned by the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey.
A real estate tycoon by the name of Larry Silverstein held the
lease on the towers.
Shortly
after the devastating destruction of the twin towers, with its
horrendous loss of life, I advocated that we must build in that very
spot the world’s tallest tower with a memorial cathedral at the top
twenty or thirty stories. To
my mind, nothing less than the tallest tower in the world could provide
the kind of dramatic and spiritual response needed to honor the people
who were killed and repudiate the terrorists and their murderous holy
war. Their co-conspirators
are still determined to advance those malevolent values throughout the
world.
A
new tower built with all the new technology would inspire awe and become
a tremendous asset to New York City, the world’s capital of free
enterprise. A cathedral at
the top, lit up at night and seen for miles around, would add that
needed spiritual dimension to a secular project.
Since many survivors of the victims of that attack as well as
many other Americans consider that site to be hallowed ground, it
requires a powerful spiritual statement that the entire world will
instantly and unambiguously recognize as American resiliency in the face
of brutal evil.
The
Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, and other great commercial
towers in New York have long been looked at as cathedrals of capitalism,
representing the spiritual values of economic freedom and capitalistic
enterprise. And it is
interesting to note that those monuments to American idealism, plus
Rockefeller Center, were all built during the Depression.
But the destruction of the World Trade Center towers by
terrorists who hate American freedom and enterprise requires a response
that inspires as much awe and reverence as do the great cathedrals of
Europe.
Building
the tallest tower in the world at ground zero would reestablish New
York’s and America’s preeminence as the driving forces for freedom
and democracy in the world. The
first sixty stories of the tower could be used for commercial purposes,
the next twenty stories for government bureaus, and the final top twenty
or thirty stories for the Memorial Cathedral that will earn its way by
charging visitors an appropriate fee.
Such a tower would attract visitors from all over the world and
become one of the great tourist attractions on the continent.
The
Memorial Cathedral would display the photos and biographies of all of
the victims, plus videos and books to sell.
It would also show photographs of the offices and great
restaurant that were destroyed, along with many art treasures.
The exhibits could be modeled on the Holocaust Museum in
Washington. We should not
forget that the attack on the Twin Towers was the most horrific and
spectacular terrorist attack in history.
It was an attack that changed the world we live in.
Above all, it was an attack on the American idea and of all the
values we hold sacred.
If
we fail to build the world’s tallest tower to replace the towers
destroyed by our enemies, we will be telling them that we have been
humbled and that we are afraid to soar higher than before.
We will be telling them that we are no longer optimistic about
our future and have accepted their verdict that we are a society in
decline.
It
is true that we are presently going through a difficult period in our
history, but one hardly as difficult as the Civil War or Great
Depression. America is
still the most free and productive society in history and still
attracting millions of immigrants.
By building the world’s tallest tower in the very spot where we
were challenged and devastated by the terrorists, we will be reasserting
our preeminence as a creative, humane civilization and stating our
undiminished optimism in the American future.
© 2002 Samuel L. Blumenfeld - All Rights Reserved
Samuel L. Blumenfeld
is the author of eight books on education, including “Is Public
Education Necessary?” and “The Whole Language/OBE Fraud,” published
by The Paradigm Company, 208-322-4440.
His reading instruction program, “Alpha-Phonics,” is available
by writing The Tutoring Company, P.O. Box 540111, Waltham,
MA 02454-0111.
www.alpha-phonics.com
www.howtotutor.com
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