Imagine a bed of granite in the dead of winter. Skyscrapers have toppled or are empty shells. Cars and trucks lay rusting in what were bustling streets, filled with commerce and promise.
There’s a blizzard; and all of the destruction is covered in a thin, white blanket. It’s no comfort. Currier and Ives are long gone from this place. You can hear the freezing wind whip through the mass of steel girders and concrete.
At one time, people from all over the world flocked here to try and make a new life for themselves. They tried to escape their own countries filled with persecution and poverty. When they entered the now frozen harbor, they would shed tears and applaud at seeing Miss Liberty; the massive statue and testament to freedom now in jagged pieces.
When the bomb came that day, few escaped. Many were vaporized and some were trapped until they perished. There was no help coming. The first-responders were killed too. Several thousand were underground in the transit system or frantically hid there when they heard the sirens. They stayed there for weeks until the food and water in the retail shops was exhausted. Then, they turned on each other, until the underground became one giant grave site.
For twelve years, the senseless World War had gone on, and of course, nothing was accomplished. Nothing changed, except for one thing: the greatest City in the world was lost.
When Iranians chant, “Death to America” in their legislature, many New Yorkers think they are talking about New York City. After all, it represents everything that is the American Dream. No one thought 9/11 could happen either.
People who say a nuclear Iran poses no threat while Iran is already threatening to kill us, must be, frankly, unbalanced. Iranians are saying the words. They are making a promise. New Yorkers, in demonstrating against this secretive nuclear policy for Iran, are envisioning much of the nuclear wasteland I described.
Donald Trump embodies all that makes the City what it is today. The reason he resonates is he is willing to tell these legislators in Congress that they are nuts for considering this Iran deal. He will say it, along with thousands of New Yorkers.
What are you saying to your legislator?
