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") 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