Gore Praises Rescue Effort, Public Servants

Before an overflowing crowd at the Kennedy School of Government, former Vice President Al Gore ’69 discussed the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, praising the response of working-class Americans and public servants in recent weeks.

Nearly 800 people crowded into the ARCO Forum last night to hear Gore speak on “The Strength of America” at the 2001 Jerry Wurf Memorial Lecture, Gore’s second public address since he conceded the 2000 presidential election to George W. Bush last December.

“Now more than ever, it’s abundantly clear that the strength of America is our people,” said Gore, who sported an American flag pin on his jacket, as well as the full beard he grew this summer.

Part of a lecture series in memory of a prominent union leader, Gore’s speech focused on the role of working Americans and unions in the country, with Gore saying the country should strengthen families and communities by lessening the burden on many working Americans and allowing them to “get off the treadmill a little more often.”

He stressed protecting the rights of workers through organized unions, while also giving his support for the living wage movement on campus.

“Right now, organizing is a very important thing,” Gore said. “There are a lot of people in America who are having a hard time.”

“I honor the students who were involved last spring [in the Mass. Hall occupation calling for a living wage],” he said. “I know the University that I love so much will find a way to come to an equitable solution.”

But while Gore’s speech focused on working Americans and the labor movement, the former vice president touched on the recent tragedy throughout his comments.

Gore told several anecdotes about his recent discussions with Americans on their feelings after the attacks that killed thousands in the World Trade Center and Pentagon, praising the unity he has seen accross the country.

“I hope that we maintain the degree of unity we have right now,” Gore said.

In praising public servants, Gore shared the well-publicized story of the Rev. Mychal F. Judge, a New York City friar who was killed by falling debris while administering the last rites to a fallen rescue worker outside the World Trade Center. Judge served as the chaplain for several New York City fire departments, and received the first registered death certificate stemming from the attacks.

“He was willing to go directly into harm’s way,” Gore said of Judge. “He exemplified both the scarifice and values of our coutnry in this time of peril.”

After his speech, Gore took several questions from students, most asking for Gore to explain his thoughts on the debates that have stemmed from the Sept. 11 attacks, such as how to uphold civil liberties and how to prevent descrimination and hate crimes against Middle Eastern and South Asian Americans.

Gore said the country must establish “mutual respect for differences,” and then work towards “transcendence of those differences” in order to avoid the recent upsurge in acts of violence against Americans because of their race.

Gore said the country’s current effort to eliminate the roots of terrorism around the world is key to safeguarding the nation’s democratic principles.

“The battle against terrorism is a battle for the value of human life and for freedom,” Gore said.

Gore also reiterated his support for any military action the Bush administration takes against those who carried out the attacks, saying the U.S. government will have to make difficult decisions in coming weeks.

“It is extremely difficult for President Bush to find the right path here,” Gore said.

“Whoever is in the White House would face extreme difficulties here.”

And Gore openly criticized those who have held peace rallies calling for no military response.

“We have an obligation to protect our people. We have been attacked,” Gore said. “This isn’t complicated to me. It isn’t complicated, like Vietnam was.”

While last night’s event covered serious subject matter, Gore often spoke in a conversational manner in responding to students’ questions, walking around the stage without his suit jacket on.

Students with tickets lined up more than an hour-and-a-half before the event in order to secure seats. All available tickets for the event were given out Monday in a matter of minutes, with many students even watching a simulcast of the event in overflow rooms at the Kennedy School.

Gore began his remarks by making light of the controversial end to his run for the presidency last year.

“I’m Al Gore, and I used to be the next President of the United States,” Gore quipped after being introduced by University President Lawrence H. Summers.

“You win some, you lose some, and then there’s that little known third category,” Gore added, drawing laughs and cheers from the crowd.

But when one student asked him directly about what may have been flaws in his campaign, Gore said last year’s presidential contest was not currently an important issue.

“I just don’t feel like talking about politics right now,” Gore said. “After what happened Sept. 11, all of that seems so distant.”

—Staff writer Imtiyaz H. Delawala can be reached at delawala@fas.harvard.edu.