JUST SAY "NO" -- IT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH -- SIGN THE PETITION

A QUESTION FOR THE CANDIDATES

The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use; how to get men of power to live for the public rather than off the public.

A significant shift has started at Ground Zero; potent changes are looming. And the only reason the possibilities are so encouraging is because one man made it his aim, against all odds, to show the feasibility of reborn Twins. He has accomplished that brilliantly.

We believe that a reasonable claim can be made that the Twins could be topped out by 9/11/11 and the memorial could be in place a year earlier. But whether the Towers are all the way up or halfway up on the tenth anniversary, is there really any rational person, regardless of their preferences and prejudices, that does not recognize that a wave of joy and relief and confidence would sweep over America and the world at the sight?

The destruction of the Twin Towers was seared into the world's psyche and the world needs the reassurance of seeing this landmark back where it belongs. ONLY stunning new Twin Towers would say "NO, YOU DON'T!" to the ghouls behind 9/11 and those who want to hijack the western world. So why the disconnect? Why are politicians trying to drive a square peg into a round hole when the most popular and most impressive solution would be the easiest to achieve? And why has the media disgraced itself by doing such a hatchet job on the truth?

WORLD TRADE AND WORLD PEACE

The architect of the real World Trade Center, Minoru Yamasaki, said that "World trade means world peace and consequently the World Trade Center... is a living symbol of man's dedication to world peace... a representation of man's belief in humanity, his need for individual dignity, his beliefs in the cooperation of men, and through cooperation, his ability to find greatness." Have we really given up on all of that?

Twin towers are visual shorthand for the principles of parity, equality, respect – the very core of what was under attack on 9/11. There is every reason to resist the wanton exchange of twin towers for a monolithic obelisk and a trendy collection of mediocre buildings.

Replacing the vision of peaceful coexistence and mutual prosperity that the Twin Towers originally stood for with a single tower/fortress is a trade-off we DO NOT have to accept. It's actually a good thing that the years since September 11, 2001 were spent spinning our wheels – or we would have gone so much farther in the wrong direction.

Not long ago An American teenager living outside Dubai sent us an eloquent message: "New York wants [its] castle back, not a bunker... New York needs a crown, not a helmet!"

Even more recently this comment was left on the site: "Greetings from IRAN…I'm so sorry and I hope us to see the towers once again together…Those two towers are not just buildings…They are also the symbol of people who hate terrorism and everyone who brake the PEACE…so let us rebuild our world together!!"

In a 2004 New York Post op-ed entitled "World Trade Sellouts," Nicole Gelinas wrote: "Osama bin Laden gave the order to destroy the World Trade Center – but Gov. Pataki & Co. are paying for the funeral." Actually, the taxpayers are the ones paying for it – as usual – but Gov. Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg, Sen. Schumer, Congressman Rangel, among others, didn't have to agree to be pallbearers.

It's not too late for people of good will to prevail over a selfish, cynical, and arrogant power structure. If we don't fight such a brazen abuse of power in deciding the future of this publicly-owned property and taxpayer-subsidized effort, particularly when it means so much to all of us, then we won't just be giving away sixteen acres in New York City – we'll be letting go of a big chunk of our country as well.

*We are aware that some people object to the term "Ground Zero" and therefore, out of respect for that viewpoint, we use it more sparingly than it is used in the mainstream media. But sometimes we think it is the best way to refer to the WTC.