I’m getting a little nauseated with the bickering and sniping (and I’m not exempting myself from this statement) today when we should be coming together. Therefore, let me list some of the things that I heard of or saw today that impressed and/or inspired me.
In no particular order:
First: As a non-Hillary supporter, I was expecting the worst, but…Hillary Clinton’s comments that I heard on CNN were the mark of true class. In essence she said “George W. Bush is my President and I stand behind him 100% in this crisis” (not a verbatim quote). No weasel words, no hedging, no veiled attacks. This impressed the hell out of me, given how some cretins on either side of the aisle have used this sort of crisis in the past to push an agenda or go after the opposition party. I’m sure that’s coming from both sides, but now isn’t the time and Hillary Clinton’s clear statement is how politics in America should work.
Second, all the scenes I’ve seen of New Yorkers: no looting, no rioting, no hysterical panic. People were helping people, working together in a terrible situation. Apparently people were giving away or selling at cost bottled water. No profiteering. Kudos to New Yorkers.
Third: The woman on the plane that went down in Pennsylvania: I don’t know your name, but if it was up to me, you’d get a posthumous Medal of Freedom (that’s the civilian one, right?). She had the presence of mind and the sheer guts to call 911 on her cellphone from the bathroom of the plane and tried to give descriptions of what was going on. A hero.
Fourth: The firefighters and the policemen who risked (and lost) their lives trying to evacuate the buildings. I’ve got a friend of a friend who’s made the claim that “Hey, firefighters and policemen are just doing a job they’re paid to do: they’re not heroes by definition.” I doubt he’ll say that anymore.
I think the outpouring of support for New York and Washington has been an example of the American spirit.
And I can understand Hillary’s remark. This afternoon, I posted “President Bush” for the first time since the Inauguration. I didn’t vote for the man, I seldom agree with him or his decisions, but he is my president and the commander in chief.
I am also truly touched by the show of support and affection that the SDMB has shown to its own. People talk about the depersonalization that the Internet seems to have caused, but that clearly is not the case here.
I second the comment about Hillary. I usually really don’t like her, but I respected all her comments today. This time is no time for partisanship.
Regarding the firemen and policemen: On a thread a few months back, a particularly insensitive soul was “rating” professions, “High Level” “Mid Level” and “Low Level”. He put (IIRC) firemen in the “Mid Level” category -meaing that it was a non-prestigious profession, not requiring much advanced education. SCREW THAT. Screw that sideways. I thought so then, I definitely think so now.
I was watching the news this morning from the second plane crash until well past the second building collapse. Tom Brokaw never lost it. He looked terrible, but he was always calm, always composed, and able to discuss rationally with the men and women in the field as needed. I saw him later on during lunchtime. I have no idea how long he stayed on the air today but it was probably the hardest news he’s ever had to anchor.
I’d like to add the Congressional press conference. The bipartisan statement of support for Bush, followed by the apparently spontaneous rendition of “God Bless America.” That really really moved me.
I was walking up First Ave. literally ten minutes after the second tower fell (I watched) and there were already people with volunteer stickers on in front of at least five hospital centers.
I was walking back home, and there was a woman with a huge shopping cart full of one-gallon water jugs, and plastic cups. She was asking everyone if they needed water. If they seemed shell-shocked, she asked again. When I passed her, she had four jugs. I chatted with her a bit, she had started out with twenty-three.
I’d like to give a small applause to the people who just kept on doing what they do. To all the shop owners who DIDN’T close the doors. To the co-owners of the Italian restaurant down the block, who ran the place by themselves, so that people could have a nice dinner. To some, this may seem like a lack of respect, but I think that when terrorists try to disrupt your lives, the ones who refuse to budge should be commended.
And on that same note, a thank you to all those people I saw walking up First Ave. Thank you for not panicking. Thank you for not whining. Thank you for getting yourselves home, on your own two feet, without fuss, without violence, and without requiring police to run crowd control. I know you weren’t hurt and didn’t deserve any special attention, but thousands of annoyed people stuck in a beseiged city can do a lot of damage, and you refrained. That alone was a huge contribution to the relief effort.
And thank you, thank you, thank you, to the dentist’s office personnel who stayed until I could walk there and pick up my lover. I know you wanted to get the hell out, but you stayed with your patient who was recovering from anesthesia and you made sure he wasn’t out on the street, awake but maybe still confused. He probably would have been fine, but I thank you for caring enough to make sure I was there to pick him up.
President Washington once said something to the effect of - “The tree of liberty must be periodically watered with the blood of the martyrs in order to bear fruit.”
[I’m paraphrasing. But big deal.]
Like the other posters in this thread…the way the American people have been handling themselves in the face of catastrophe has made me proud to be among them…and so sad for the evil that men do.
There were many things done right today, in an effort to counteract a terrible wrong.
The things that my fellow posters have said in this thread, I agree with. Including the parts about Hillary Clinton (and Ted Kennedy, earlier in the day). I can respect one person’s dislike of a particular politician… but, aside from a few not-well-thought-out comments, such stuff has been kept off the boards.
I must mention “guy with the camcorder” whose amateur footage I have seen twice now. Unbelieveable.
If anyone can tell me more about this guy, let me know. In the two clips I saw he asked a guy if he needed help and ducked behind a car as one of the buildings collapsed.
The unity of our federal government was certainly heartening.
And, I must admit that I got chills when members of Congress - Republican and Democrat, men and women, whites and blacks - stood together and spontaneously sang “God Bless America” after their address to the nation.
The heroism of the police, fire fighters and rescue workers on Sept. 11 will resonate forever in history.
Watching the various footage on CNN today, I was struck by the awesome bravery of the cameramen (or women) who in several cases, kept filming until the very last second before running for their lives. They helped the rest of the nation, and the world, see and know what was going on.
Also, while on the whole I am not fond of President Bush, I have been very impressed with his speeches today. I feel he’s doing well with a horrible situation.
I’ll politely disagree about Senator Clinton. Sure she put partisanship aside during a time of crisis. And I get out the jack when I get a flat tire. It’s the only available reaction. Every single politician will elbow their way to a camera to denounce partisanship this week.
Second: Agreed 100% about the New Yorkers. Sure, there’s going to be some looting, but it’s apparently not happening much at all. It was touching how Giuliani and the police guy responded to the reporter’s question about this - they denied that any looting was happening at all. I sensed that it wasn’t denial, it was pride.
Third: Ditto about the woman on the plane. I think we lost a lot of heros on those 4 planes.
Fourth: The firefighters and the cops are amazing. Enough said.
and my addition…
Ashleigh Banfield on MSNBC was just awesome. She used to be a local anchor here in Dallas so it’s kind of like a local person is there on the scene. She usually hosts shows about less pressing topics - but she reported this tradegy quite well. Not to mention the fact that she was covered in dust, and there for probably 10 hours.
I’ve never been a big fan of most politicians, and even less of a Bush fan.
With two exceptions, I was impressed with every politician on both sides of the aisle, including the President (I’ll even capitalize it out of respect). Other than the two, I didn’t see any cases of using this tragedy to promote their political agendas. I’m hoping it will remain this way for the foreseeable future.
I’ll avoid sniping the two in question. It was early in the day and their handlers had obviously not briefed them yet.
The American public, and the majority of the global citizenry, has impressed me to no end. There have been more examples of selflessness than I could possibly have imagined.
To “The Man Who”,
The fellow you are referring to is Dr. (Mark or Matt) Heath. I saw the footage and was reminded that a large majority of folks become doctors for all the right reasons.
To the firemen and policemen in New York. Calm, cool, hard working.
After the first plane hit the WTC, I logged on to the Internet and found a site with live audio from a scanner picking up police and fire department communications in the area of the Trade Center. The dispatchers calmly directing squad cars to handle traffic and organizing transport for more fire trucks to cross the Hudson from Staten Island. The calm voice reporting in “The tower just collapsed.” The fireman trapped in the first tower just minutes before the collapse, requesting help in getting out the ten people he was trapped with. That one I will never forget. I don’t expect he got out, but I will never know because my computer went down. By the time I was back online, both towers were down. That deep voice announcing “The Pentagon has been hit.” The half caught announcement of another plane going down in Pennsylvania. No panic, and rarely a raised voice. Quiet heros, doing what has to be done in an emergency.
The swift shut down of all air traffic by the FAA.
A salute to all those doing all they can to help, and God bless all those who lost there lives.
To those who head in to work this morning, who will pick up the pieces and begin to heal the wounds of our country. The employees who were affected, either directly or indirectly, and all the workers of this country, your roles are as important as any military or government action that will be taken. I thank you for your courage and commitment.