Pataki’s view through broken looking glass
Former New York Gov. George Pataki had no way of knowing his new book about 9/11 would be released in the middle of a pandemic that will be as permanent a bookmark in American lives as that single day 19 years ago.
“Beyond the Great Divide: How a Nation Became a Neighborhood” (written with Trey Radel) traces fissures created in the aftermath of the Twin Towers’ collapse that continue to cleave the nation.
“Americans may never embrace post-9/11-style patriotism again, but we can and must return to basic civility,” Pataki writes.
On Friday evening, I was able to invite Pataki to offer a postscript to the book while moderating a discussion for Ferguson Library’s 9-yearold “Civility in America” series. “Civility has turned into toxicity,” he states in the book.
The pandemic and 9/11 are as different as cancer and a gunshot. But they have undeniable similarities. Broadway’s lights have been extinguished. Many people in this area struggle to imagine when ... if ... they will feel comfortable returning to Manhattan. Everyday life takes place through a broken looking glass.
Pataki reminds us of the power of symbols large and small that paved the path to the new normal after 9/11. The Freedom Tower he helped shepherd through endures as such a symbol.
Those days also called for the brand of resolve seen at wartime. Pataki found it in “The Pile,” the seven stories of rubble at Ground Zero. He would make regular visits to offer gratitude and encouragement. He learned a handful of older volunteers were retired New York firefighters raking through the remains for their own children.
“It gives you the strength to say ‘Yeah it’s hard for me, but it’s nothing in comparison to what others have gone through, ” he recalled Friday. “And if they can show this courage in the face of that enormous loss it should be nothing for me to move forward and to move on. And that’s what we were able to do as a state and as a country.”
There doesn’t seem to be a word for what Pataki is describing. It’s not nostalgia, but experiences that sear precepts into our identities.
“Almost 20 years later I still hate going down to Ground Zero,” he shares.
It’s worth gazing back into the chasm. It made me question how that crisis would have played out if elected leaders were sniping at one another on Twitter rather than working shoulder to shoulder.
Because of the pandemic, I read the book on a handheld device. I was surprised when the final screens featured photos of those days. The images were too familiar, as much a shorthand as “9/11” itself.
The real power is in the words. Pataki’s are often tender, and sometimes funny (he describes the guest list at Donald Trump’s wedding as being “like an ‘Avengers’ movie with ‘Star Wars’ characters”).
He also poses bold questions. I pointed out to him that it’s a challenge to ask readers to consider the four simple words, “Did the terrorists win?” He added a few more for context.
“Given how divided we are today, did the terrorists win?” he responded. “... the goal wasn’t to kill 30,000 people and bring down towers. The goal was to divide Americans.”
And so, divided we stand.
I didn’t ask Pataki to identify more parallels, but he did.
“We’re all in this together. We’re not in this as Republicans or Democrats. We’re in this as Americans That was the case on September 11 and it’s the case in Washington now.”
It sounds like a rallying cry, even on Zoom.
The platform has advantages (audience questions and comments stream in a la “Mystery Science Theater”) and disadvantages (my doorbell rang in the middle for the first time in months. Who rings a doorbell in the middle of a pandemic?). Pataki endorsed that “there’s no chance for the audience to boo me.”
To revive the economy, Pataki says some industries will need considerable federal support, even if it’s unsavory.
“We cannot let the airline industry die,” he offered. “If we’re going to get through this economically, we’re going to have to fly.” He also favors leaving decisions to states rather than federal mandates.
“Part of the greatness of this country is that we have 50 laboratories of democracy, 50 states. And we don’t have the federal government dictating economic policy, dictating social policy, dictating every corner of this country at the same time. In COVID that is an appropriate response.”
Civility doesn’t mean not offering strong opinions. Pataki takes enough shots at both parties that I suggest he’d make a pretty good editorial page editor.
As the last Republican to hold a statewide office in New York (he left in 2006 after three terms), Pataki reiterated his harsh criticism of current Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s policies regarding nursing homes, while acknowledging that his successor “is probably the most popular politician in America” right now.
We visited other themes. He favors term limits and is “obsessed” enough about immigration policy that he could clearly fill another book. My favorite is his proposal to ban members of Congress from becoming lobbyists.
Ultimately, Pataki keeps returning to lessons of 9/11 that remain a valuable road map.
“It makes you appreciate tragedies are going to happen. You have to deal with it in the best way possible and yet move on in as optimistic a way as you possibly can.”
Yes, there is a bridge to cross the Great Divide. And there’s an entrance on both sides.
“Almost 20 years later I still hate going down to Ground Zero.”
Former New York Gov. George Pataki