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Whatever barriers we put up are gone. Even if it's just momentary. We are judging people by not the color of their skin, but the content of their character. You know, all this talk about 'These guys are criminal masterminds. They got together and their extraordinary guile and their wit and their skill...' It's all a lie. Any fool can blow something up. Any fool can destroy. But to see these guys, these firefighters and these policemen and people from all over the country, literally with buckets, rebuilding... that's extraordinary. And that's why we have already won... they can't... it's light. It's democracy. They can't shut that down.

Jon Stewart#61

CommunityRecoveryResilienceUnity

About this quote

What does it mean?
Stewart contrasts the destructive capacity of terrorists with the constructive power of community rebuilding after tragedy.
In plain terms
Destruction is easy, but rebuilding with unity is extraordinary.
What can you take from it?
Unity and recovery outweigh destruction.

Where it applies

  • responding to tragedy
  • analyzing post-attack recovery

Putting it to work

  • inspiring collective action
  • highlighting civic virtue

Questions to consider

  • What wins in a crisis?
  • How does society recover?

Another view

It idealizes the unity during such crises.

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