This was a forwarded e-mail from my sister, Eileen. Hope you will enjoy it!

This article was written by Mr. Cornel Nistorescu and published

under the title "C"ntarea Americii meaning
("Ode To America") in the Romanian newspaper
Evenimentul zilei("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 of September 11 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!