The Lovely Lady

(NY City: 18 April 2010) Tied for top billing on my list of "what I liked most" about NYC was the trip to Liberty Island and the famous Statue of Liberty (tied with seeing Phantom on Broadway). We learned some things we didn't know about the statue. A gift from France (we knew that) but the liberty it originally commemorated was the liberation/emancipation of the slaves as an outcome of the American Civil War. Dedicated in 1886 the statue would evolve a little later to become the symbol of freedom and opportunity to immigrants who would come to America during the peak immigration years from 1892 to 1924. The Statue as a symbol of freedom (as we learned from our recorded audio tour guide) has actually evolved several times over its history. The Statue was used to sell war bonds during World Wars and most recently was a symbol to rally patriotism in defiance to what happened right across the harbor on 9/11/2001.
We didn't even mind the extra (tougher than airport) security required to get on the boat ride and visit the statue. My mind was filled remembering my own 9/11 experience at the Pentagon as I viewed Lady Liberty and listened to her story. Adding a nice finishing touch to an already memorable experience, a high school choral group sang a patriotic song as we gazed at the Lady in all her glory. What she symbolizes is not an ephemeral will-o-the-wisp ideal, but something real and solid. Something every American should ponder from time to time. Liberty and Freedom are worth living for... and dying for.