Remarks by Stephen Breyer - November 10, 2001

Thank you for the invitation to speak this evening. I am grateful for the opportunity to be in New York. Being here helps me understand what New Yorkers have experienced in the last two months. Two weeks ago, I visited the site of the World Trade Center, where I, like you, experienced a range of emotions. I saw what the near worst of human nature can do. I was moved deeply by the memorials, the flowers, the letters, the teddy bears, the photographs, and the groups of relatives of victims moving through the smoke of the ruins to visit those shrines. I wanted to say to each policeman and fireman whom I saw thank you for doing what you have done and are doing. And when I saw the relief workers, the construction workers, the clearing and the resettling, I realized that they and we will re-create order out of devastation and chaos. The events of September 11 will continue to bring us together as we learn how to respond.