Reborn on the 4th of July: Statue of Liberty is open to the world once again
The pursuit of happiness once more includes ascension to the crown of America's most enduring, most inspiring symbol of freedom. Rejoice, for on the nation's 233rd birthday, the Statue of Liberty was returned to the people.
In pomp and celebration, the Lady's intertwining stairways were opened and, for the first time in 2,835 days, the stream of pilgrims that began in 1886 was resumed. Come they have and, now, come they will.
First to climb, and most fittingly, were seven foreign-born U.S. military men who took their citizenship oaths at the statue's base: Sherwin Shepherd, Herbert Maldonado, Nilton Torres, Yehuda Oren-Pinhasi, Sameh Zaki, Bryan Atega and Mahbubur Bhuiyan.
They were followed by five young New Yorkers who had earned the high honor to be the first civilians up.
Mona Platt, 13; Allan Marcus, 12; Juliet Sullivan, 10; Nica Garana, 9, and Anthony Guarino, 8, wrote the essays that were judged the best of the more than 600 entries to the Daily News' "Dear Lady Liberty" competition. And wonderful ambassadors for New York they were.
To stand in the statue's shadow, to hear the stirring official oratory, to be mindful of polls showing that nine out of 10 Americans wanted the Lady open, was to wonder why the United States government insisted on closure for almost eight years.
But insist the administration of President George W. Bush did.
There was, at first, the good and terrible reason of Sept. 11, 2001, when all national monuments were shut for security. Then, as time passed, just one marker of U.S. pride, the one that speaks most vibrantly of our ideals, the one best known around the globe, stayed closed, but for its base.
The thinking behind such a decision is now of no matter. Deplored over and again in these quarters as a cowardly betrayal, it has been banished in the administration of President Obama. The shackles are lifted.
Due credit goes to Rep. Anthony Weiner, who zestfully joined our campaign just months after we ran our first of 24 editorials on Nov. 27, 2003, and who stayed on the cause through five years of battling.
Sen. Chuck Schumer joined the fray, and upon his arrival in the Senate in 2006, Bob Menendez picked up the cudgel. Then came Ken Salazar, whose critical appointment as Obama's interior secretary made him the Lady's custodian. He had the opportunity to make history, and he made it, wonderful, wonderful history.
So, after Salazar cut the ribbon, by happenstance at 9:11 a.m., visitors off the first public boat of the day began to mount the 354 steps to the crown.
There was joy among the multitudes - tourists and locals, Americans and foreigners - whether snapping photos along the seawall or waiting in line for the climb up.
The first in line, Barbara McLean of Atlanta, spoke for all: "Being able to look out from the crown is what this country is all about."
The pursuit of happiness once more includes ascension to the crown of America's most enduring, most inspiring symbol of freedom. Rejoice, for on the nation's 233rd birthday, the Statue of Liberty was returned to the people.
In pomp and celebration, the Lady's intertwining stairways were opened and, for the first time in 2,835 days, the stream of pilgrims that began in 1886 was resumed. Come they have and, now, come they will.
First to climb, and most fittingly, were seven foreign-born U.S. military men who took their citizenship oaths at the statue's base: Sherwin Shepherd, Herbert Maldonado, Nilton Torres, Yehuda Oren-Pinhasi, Sameh Zaki, Bryan Atega and Mahbubur Bhuiyan.
They were followed by five young New Yorkers who had earned the high honor to be the first civilians up.
Mona Platt, 13; Allan Marcus, 12; Juliet Sullivan, 10; Nica Garana, 9, and Anthony Guarino, 8, wrote the essays that were judged the best of the more than 600 entries to the Daily News' "Dear Lady Liberty" competition. And wonderful ambassadors for New York they were.
To stand in the statue's shadow, to hear the stirring official oratory, to be mindful of polls showing that nine out of 10 Americans wanted the Lady open, was to wonder why the United States government insisted on closure for almost eight years.
But insist the administration of President George W. Bush did.
There was, at first, the good and terrible reason of Sept. 11, 2001, when all national monuments were shut for security. Then, as time passed, just one marker of U.S. pride, the one that speaks most vibrantly of our ideals, the one best known around the globe, stayed closed, but for its base.
The thinking behind such a decision is now of no matter. Deplored over and again in these quarters as a cowardly betrayal, it has been banished in the administration of President Obama. The shackles are lifted.
Due credit goes to Rep. Anthony Weiner, who zestfully joined our campaign just months after we ran our first of 24 editorials on Nov. 27, 2003, and who stayed on the cause through five years of battling.
Sen. Chuck Schumer joined the fray, and upon his arrival in the Senate in 2006, Bob Menendez picked up the cudgel. Then came Ken Salazar, whose critical appointment as Obama's interior secretary made him the Lady's custodian. He had the opportunity to make history, and he made it, wonderful, wonderful history.
So, after Salazar cut the ribbon, by happenstance at 9:11 a.m., visitors off the first public boat of the day began to mount the 354 steps to the crown.
There was joy among the multitudes - tourists and locals, Americans and foreigners - whether snapping photos along the seawall or waiting in line for the climb up.
The first in line, Barbara McLean of Atlanta, spoke for all: "Being able to look out from the crown is what this country is all about."
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