Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani said yesterday that Americans are rapidly letting go of the events of Sept. 11, and he hopes today's anniversary ceremonies will lead people back to the unifying spirit seen after the attacks.
"I'm concerned that we're forgetting Sept. 11, 2001, a little bit too fast," Giuliani told reporters after a visit to Ground Zero. "I don't see as many American flag pins, as many American flags as I did in the days after Sept. 11, 2001.
"We learned how to come together in a bipartisan way around the things that needed to be done to protect ourselves, and you can see a little more fracturing of that. So I hope that [today] and in the future, we use the day to remember the damage that can be done by terrorists."
Giuliani said there was nothing inconsistent with moving on and never forgetting - "the Jewish people learned that" - and he once again called for the memorial to take center stage.
"A couple of decades from now when people go there, if what they see are large buildings and a little memorial, they're going to have a very poor impression of our generation," Giuliani said.
He said the memorial could include something special to recognize the efforts of all the uniformed personnel who were killed in the attack.
Giuliani also said the city's security had improved remarkably and that "we have to keep working at it."
Giuliani made his remarks flanked by Thomas Von Essen, the city's Fire Commissioner under Giuliani, as well as Richie Sheirer, former head of the city's Office of Emergency Management and Larry Levy, the former city lawyer who managed the Twin Towers Fund.
Giuliani said the fund distributed all $216 million raised for the families of uniformed officers who died that day.
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