Another Country's Editorial


 We rarely get a chance to see another country's editorial about the USA.

 Read this excerpt from a Romanian Newspaper. The article was written by
 Mr. Cornel Nistorescu and published under the title "C"ntarea Americii,
 meaning "Ode To America" on September 24, 2002, in the Romanian newspaper
 Evenimentulzilei ("The Daily Event" or "News of the Day").

 ~An Ode to America~

 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, and the secret
 services 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. 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 their traditional song: "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 in 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
galloping 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, but I reached only one conclusion...only freedom
 can work such miracles.

 Cornel Nistorescu