Post by kenalpern on Sept 11, 2008 5:53:20 GMT -8
Just a reminder, for those who remember and for those who didn't know, that Friends of the Green Line met shortly after 9/11/01 and had a moment of silence to begin its first meeting in memory of those slain mercilessly and cruelly by terrorists simply because they were at the right place at the wrong time.
They were at the right place because they were working, or travelling, or doing what they were entitled to with a freedom that (as stated by the framers of our Declaration of Independence and Constitution) was and remains God-given.
My then-infant son and my wife and I were on vacation in early September in New England in early September, and I remember debating on The Transit Coalition website of the need for a Friends of the Green Line to match the efforts of Friends4Expo Transit.
My family was on the exact same United Airlines flight from Boston to L.A. that was hijacked on that fateful Tuesday morning...except we went home instead on the previous Sunday morning, when hardly anyone was in the World Trade Center towers and we were therefore spared.
I remember the frantic phone calls to our house, and the relief of those when we would answer the phone, alive and safe, who had feared we might have been on that flight that was hijacked.
The need to create a 21st-century transportation system that provides alternatives to the inefficient and outdated system we currently have, one that enhances our Economy, our Environment and our Quality of Life, isn't just a luxury--it's our obligation as American citizens.
Regardless of who wins the next Presidential elections, the winner will need both military and economic efforts of some sort in our ongoing fight to ensure a safe and vibrant and healthy world.
It is NOT too much to ask ourselves to find innovative ways to fund and implement the construction of overdue projects such as those which provide cheaper and cleaner and easier access to key destinations such as business centers and airports.
Let's not let our disagreements or concerns about our current local, state or federal governments lose sight of our own personal obligations to make our region and our world a better place.
Creating a freeway/rail/airport transportation network for the 21st century, especially in a world-class international center of commerce such as Southern California, is one of the best ways to do just that: to make our community and our world a better place.
If we're willing to support the efforts of Americans abroad who are risking life and limb to defend our freedom and our way of life, it is not--and never will be--too much to ask ourselves to given them, their families, and (at times) their posthumous mourners and survivors, a better America to come home to.
They were at the right place because they were working, or travelling, or doing what they were entitled to with a freedom that (as stated by the framers of our Declaration of Independence and Constitution) was and remains God-given.
My then-infant son and my wife and I were on vacation in early September in New England in early September, and I remember debating on The Transit Coalition website of the need for a Friends of the Green Line to match the efforts of Friends4Expo Transit.
My family was on the exact same United Airlines flight from Boston to L.A. that was hijacked on that fateful Tuesday morning...except we went home instead on the previous Sunday morning, when hardly anyone was in the World Trade Center towers and we were therefore spared.
I remember the frantic phone calls to our house, and the relief of those when we would answer the phone, alive and safe, who had feared we might have been on that flight that was hijacked.
The need to create a 21st-century transportation system that provides alternatives to the inefficient and outdated system we currently have, one that enhances our Economy, our Environment and our Quality of Life, isn't just a luxury--it's our obligation as American citizens.
Regardless of who wins the next Presidential elections, the winner will need both military and economic efforts of some sort in our ongoing fight to ensure a safe and vibrant and healthy world.
It is NOT too much to ask ourselves to find innovative ways to fund and implement the construction of overdue projects such as those which provide cheaper and cleaner and easier access to key destinations such as business centers and airports.
Let's not let our disagreements or concerns about our current local, state or federal governments lose sight of our own personal obligations to make our region and our world a better place.
Creating a freeway/rail/airport transportation network for the 21st century, especially in a world-class international center of commerce such as Southern California, is one of the best ways to do just that: to make our community and our world a better place.
If we're willing to support the efforts of Americans abroad who are risking life and limb to defend our freedom and our way of life, it is not--and never will be--too much to ask ourselves to given them, their families, and (at times) their posthumous mourners and survivors, a better America to come home to.