Author: Cornel Nistorescu
Publication: Snopes.com
Date:
URL: http://www.snopes.com/rumors/romania.asp
Excerpt from a Romanian newspaper Evenimentulzilei
'The Daily Event' or 'News of the Day'
Why are Americans so united? They would not
resemble one another even if you painted them all one color! They speak all
the languages of the world and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations
and religious beliefs.
Still, the American tragedy turned three hundred
million people into a hand put on the heart. Nobody rushed to accuse the White
House, the Army, or the Secret Service that they are only a bunch of losers.
Nobody rushed to empty their bank accounts. Nobody rushed out onto the streets
nearby to gape about. Instead the Americans volunteered to donate blood and
to give a helping hand.
After the first moments of panic, they raised
their flag over the smoking ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and ties in the
colors of the national flag. They placed flags on buildings and cars as if
in every place and on every car a government official or the president was
passing. On every occasion, they started singing:'God Bless America!'
I watched the live broadcast and rerun after
rerun for hours listening to the story of the guy who went down one hundred
floors with a woman in a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the
Californian hockey player, who gave his life fighting with the terrorists
and prevented the plane from hitting a target that could have killed other
hundreds or thousands of people.
How on earth were they able to respond united
as one human being? Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory
of some turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes. And with every phone call,
millions and millions of dollars were put into a collection aimed at rewarding
not a man or a family, but a spirit, which no money can buy.
What on earth can unite the Americans in such
a way? Their land? Their history? Their economic Power? Money? I tried for
hours to find an answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases with the risk
of sounding commonplace, I thought things over, I reached but only one conclusion...
Only freedom can work such miracles.