Ken Gardner, the man who designed Twin Towers II with the late Herbert Belton, an architect on the original WTC team, was amazed to hear the Executive Director of the Port Authority, Christopher Ward, claim on MSNBC’s “1600 Pennsylvania Avenue” news hour that the Twin Towers were not national landmarks, but just “real estate” structures. Mr. Gardner pointed out that he would not have put his life on hold for more than five years, devoted his own resources, and jeopardized his professional standing over mere architectural fashion. Then he summed up what is at the heart of this struggle: “I had to know whether or not the America I grew up believing in really exists.” That is what this is all about.

On “1600 Pennsylvania Avenue” David Shuster is singlehandedly putting a crucial American issue in focus for all to see and evaluate and the series will continue through the week ahead. The cure for the breakdown at the WTC is to shine more light on the subject. For much too long, only one point of view has been aired. The guests that David had on his show last week are at least as knowlegeable and representative of America as those who have monopolized the issue and done their best to avoid debate.

We believe that in introducing one 9/11 family, Al & Maureen Santora, into the Battle for Ground Zero last week, David was not suggesting that the Santoras were speaking for anyone but themselves. They were certain that rebuilding the Twin Towers is what their firefighter son Christopher would have wanted. Many share that point of view, while others surely disagree. But while each 9/11 family paid the ultimate price and each of their individual opinions is worthy of the ultimate respect, there is only one family that carries more weight than any other and that is THE AMERICAN FAMILY. And that is what the Twin Towers Alliance website and petition are meant to show. Two of the comments that came in after the Christopher Ward interview aired suggest that there is a real awakening underway:

Brandon Lowsley | All Other NY & NJ Residents
I was on the fence about this issue until I saw Ward last night. To call the Twin Towers nothing more than Real Estate was low and offensive and I’ve had enough! He slithered his way out of answering the demands of 9/11 families and the NYFD/PD. I’m now sickened by their plan and what it ’stands’ for. 20 or 30 years from now we’ll look at the once mighty Twins in photos etc. and go “why didn’t we just rebuild”? I’m 100% behind you guys now!

Robert Culver | All Other NY & NJ Residents
Why was it the Towers they wanted destroyed? The answer is obvious. They stood as a symbol of American principles, culture and achievements. So why is it so difficult for us to defy these murderous thieves and put those Towers right back up again? As an American patriot there is no other option and no better response. In your face Al-Qaida!!! RESTORE OUR MAGNIFICENT SKYLINE for all the world to see!!! Take pride in our heritage and our accomplishments. Let no one take them from US.

On July 24, 2001, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey issued the following announcement when Larry Silverstein took control of the Towers: “The World Trade Center and its Twin Towers are among the handful of instantly recognizable structures on the entire planet, like the Pyramids at Giza or the Great Wall of China.” And now they are claiming that they were “just real estate”?

In the American Institute of Architects 150th anniversary poll of America’s Favorite Architecture in 2007, the Twin Towers placed #19 out of the 150 finalists — ahead of the Brooklyn Bridge and 130 other great American landmarks.

Mr. Ward said that the time for debate is past, but since it never took place, it is long overdue. When asked if the people mattered he ducked the question, but now that we have a President whose entire message is based on respect for the rightful role of the people and on ending the tyranny of the special interests, this entire matter is likely to be revisited.

Architecture groupies can’t understand why we aren’t in awe of the “world-class architects” involved with Ground Zero, but that’s because we believe that architecture is secondary to what is at stake. The current architects are only there because the public was excluded. We are not suggesting that the architectural component is unimportant, but efforts to mischaracterize the Twin Towers II plan as retrograde and passe are going to backfire because such claims are not only irrelevant, but obviously untrue.

The four proposed towers of the official plan comprise nothing more than a World Trade Office Park, with nothing that qualifies as a World Trade Center — nothing unifying, nothing ennobling. If officials had a better plan, that could be built more quickly, for less money, and would inspire a wounded nation, that would be one thing. But it is none of those things. And if they hadn’t spent years shutting us out, we could have saved a lot of wasted time and money. But that doesn’t mean we’re stuck with what world-class egos decided to foist on the nation. And in fact, most of the ground work would have had to be done for either plan.

For years the agenda has been set by those who believe that it would be a shame to “erase the erasure”. It didn’t matter to them what the Twin Towers meant to the rest of us or how much healing it would bring to quickly raise them up. For millions of Americans the Towers were a source of pride and comfort. For millions around the world they actually superseded the Statue of Liberty as emblems of the promise of America. They were premier icons of the greatness and boldness of this country. They were not disposable or dispensable buildings.

But even though the term “iconic” is attached to the “Freedom Tower” by rote whenever promoters mention it, the intended subliminal effect will never grab the people because icons aren’t manufactured, they are endowed — and the “Freedom Tower” would never attain the stature of the remarkable Twins. If an icon is something that represents something else, we would be very interested to hear what they think this particular icon would stand for.

The Port Authority website quotes a construction worker who says how proud everyone is to be involved in rebuilding the site. We wouldn’t want to take that away from anyone but are certain that they would all be so much more inspired if they were part of building 21st-Century Twin Towers. By the same token, we believe that when many others who are not yet in support come to appreciate the relative merits of the two plans they will be won over, because we all really want the same thing — the best World Trade Center we can build. And all that requires is an open and inquiring approach.

We are also confident that Mr. Silverstein is above all a business man who just wants to recover from the bureaucratic nightmare he has been ensnared in for seven long years. When he sees that the Twin Towers II plan will put him back in business sooner, for less money, and will yield a much more valuable property, we do not think he will resist. The plans that have been developed for the site can surely be adapted to other locations where they would be better suited.

When it was pointed out to Mr. Ward that the Twin Towers could rise beside the current memorial and transit hub he was adamant that the current plan is a unified whole and not discrete buildings. But then, why, as the New York Daily News wondered on January 31, 2009, if it is one project, is he suggesting building temporary retail pads in place of Towers 3 and 4 — an idea that Mr. Silverstein rejects. And how is it that more than half a dozen architects came up with this “one” plan?

No good can come of ignoring the depth of the support that exists. It’s not going away. As another recent comment noted:

Matt Franzblau | All Other NY & NJ Residents
We need to rebuild bigger and better. When someone dies it is impossible to bring them back to life, but we are given a unique opportunity to do just that in this case, bring the Twin Towers back to life instead of being haunted by their absence.

The American people are the major stakeholder at Ground Zero. Public money built the original Towers and the public had an emotional investment that spanned more than thirty years. We leased the Twin Towers to Silverstein Properties — we didn’t give them away. And after 9/11, only a massive infusion of taxpayer dollars revived Lower Manhattan. We have a legitimate say and until that is recognized the entire project is a disgrace.