Ironically, it is exactly because we are a city that embraces

“Ironically, it is exactly because we are a city that embraces freedom, that welcomes everyone and encourages their dreams, that New York remains on the front lines in the war on terror.” — Michael Bloomberg

In this profound reflection, Michael Bloomberg, then mayor of New York City, speaks with the voice of a leader who has known both the triumph and the tragedy of his city. His words carry the weight of grief, pride, and unyielding resolve. He reveals a truth both sorrowful and noble — that freedom, the most precious treasure of humanity, is also its greatest vulnerability. The very openness that allows dreams to flourish invites danger; the very diversity that makes a city vibrant makes it a target for those who fear what they cannot control. Yet in this irony lies the heroism of New York — that it continues to welcome, build, and hope, even while standing upon the edge of danger.

The origin of this quote can be traced to the years following the September 11, 2001 attacks, when the city of New York — once the symbol of global ambition — became the ground zero of unimaginable pain. Bloomberg, who led the city in the aftermath, understood that New York was more than a collection of buildings; it was a living embodiment of the freedom of the human spirit. Its skyline rose as a monument to ambition, its streets thrummed with a thousand languages, and its people carried within them the dreams of the world. But it was precisely this light — this boundless expression of freedom — that drew the shadows of hatred. His words remind us that to be a beacon is to stand exposed, that greatness invites challenge, and that freedom demands courage.

Throughout history, the same paradox has echoed in every civilization that dared to be free. In ancient Athens, the cradle of democracy, liberty made the city a marvel of thought and art — yet also a target for tyrants who feared the power of the free mind. The Romans, too, faced enemies who envied their empire’s openness and power. And in the modern age, New York has become the Athens of the world, a place where ideas, cultures, and people converge. But as with all shining cities, light casts shadow. Those who despise freedom strike at its heart not because it is weak, but because it is strong — because it represents the dream of humanity to rise beyond fear, beyond borders, beyond hate.

Consider the day after September 11, when the air above Manhattan was thick with smoke, and the hearts of millions were heavy with loss. Yet in that same city, people of every color, faith, and language came together — firefighters from Brooklyn, doctors from Queens, immigrants who barely spoke English — to save, to rebuild, to heal. The very thing that made New York a target — its diversity and openness — became the source of its salvation. It was not power or weapons that restored the city, but the unyielding spirit of freedom, alive in the ordinary people who refused to let fear define them. Bloomberg’s words are an echo of that moment: that the price of liberty is vigilance, but the reward is the indomitable beauty of the human heart.

In these words lies also a lesson about dreams. Freedom is the soil in which dreams grow — but it is also the field upon which they must be defended. The dreamers of New York, from the artist in a small studio to the immigrant building a future from nothing, all live under the same truth: that to live freely is to live boldly, and to live boldly is to accept risk. Those who seek to destroy freedom will always arise — in every age, in every land. But as long as there are those who love, who create, and who hope, the dream will never die. Freedom endures not in the absence of fear, but in the courage to keep living despite it.

Bloomberg’s words remind us that freedom and security are not opposites, but partners in an eternal dance. A city that closes itself in the name of safety ceases to be free; yet a city that forgets vigilance endangers the very liberty it cherishes. The wise must find balance — to guard without hardening, to protect without closing, to defend without becoming what we fear. For in every generation, there will come those who seek to build walls — of suspicion, of hatred, of exclusion. But New York’s strength, and the strength of all free people, lies in the opposite: in its bridges, its open doors, and its unbroken faith in humanity.

The lesson, then, is timeless and powerful: that freedom demands both courage and compassion. To be free is to risk, but it is also to live fully — to believe in the goodness of others even when danger lurks. The citizen must not grow cynical, nor let fear become law. Instead, each of us must guard freedom not only with vigilance, but with love — for love, too, is an act of defense. Love of neighbor, love of diversity, love of life itself — these are the shields that protect the soul of a nation.

So, my children of liberty and hope, remember the wisdom of Michael Bloomberg. To stand for freedom is to stand upon the front lines of history. To build a city, a nation, or a life that welcomes all — this is the noblest form of defiance. Do not retreat from danger by closing your heart. Embrace, create, and dream, even in the shadow of fear. For as long as humanity chooses freedom over fear, compassion over cruelty, and courage over comfort, no terror, no darkness, will ever triumph over the light. Freedom will remain — scarred, perhaps, but eternal.