A Proper Stand: Mamdani’s Rightful Place at 9/11’s Ground Zero Memorial

Today, Mayor Zohran Mamdani will stand with millions of New Yorkers to mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. He will do so while other prominent New Yorkers, such as Rudy Giuliani, call for him to be barred from this ceremony – apparently incapable of separating the peaceful faith that he practices from violent extremism. He will do so while President Trump – who quipped, days after the attacks, that his offices at 40 Wall Street were now “the tallest” in New York City – plays golf, or holds meetings with his political allies and lobbyists, or makes further childish posts on his own social media platform while the country suffers further outbreaks of food-borne illness and the earth stays its course of disastrous temperature rise.

The president’s actions are nothing out of character for him, and are rightly dismissed as crude, vile, and utterly unbefitting of anyone above the age of three. Yet there is a far more insidious undertone to his behavior. He represents everything that has caused America to decline in the 21st century; an endemic and corrosive narcissism, a reactionary ideology wholly carcinogenic to democracy. He is opposed to the liberty of the American people, and seeks only to benefit himself and those who benefit him. He represents, in short, the party of me. 

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the United States was wracked by major internal problems. The economy spiralled following the dot com crash, energy prices skyrocketed due to the first Gulf War, and nascent threats of White Supremacism and Christian Nationalism reared their heads. Timothy McVeigh, a former member of the Ku Klux Klan, carried out the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995; this was the deadliest terrorist attack in United States history until 9/11. But instead of encouraging unity in these trying times, the government increased surveillance of its citizens, treating everyone as suspect – while waging war in far-off countries to find scapegoats for these attacks and refusing to address the real issues at home. 

In the wake of 9/11, the federal government enacted reforms to improve the country’s security and prevent terrorist attacks of this scale from ever occurring again. The PATRIOT act, signed into law in 2001, gave the executive branch sweeping powers of search and seizure of persons and property; most infamously, its provision that law enforcement could search electronic devices without the consent or knowledge of the owner, and that undocumented immigrants could be detained indefinitely as long as a pretext of “security measures” could be established. It was set to expire in 2005, but Congress continued renewing its provisions until 2020. The Department of Homeland Security – the parent agency of ICE – was founded in 2002. These agencies were originally created to combat further threats in the wake of one of the largest disasters in American history. But rather than extend help to its citizens, our government turned its aim on innocent people.

This disconnect between what is needed and what is done has continued through the second Trump administration, which is throwing its support behind further mass violations of privacy. Flock cameras and AI-powered surveillance threaten to put our rights at even greater risk, while providing nothing to the American people but greater discord and discontent. AI will not solve the climate crisis, or end food shortages, or help people rise out of poverty. It is treated instead as a solution to all these issues by means of authoritarian suppression.

But silencing dissent does not solve problems. Fear is not a solution to the issues that plague normal, everyday people – the same people who lived in fear after 9/11, the same people who died in the attacks. In June 2025, over 20% of Americans were 18 or under – not even thought of during 9/11. Must they live with the same consequences, the same lies and fear that spawned from this horrific day? Just as people feared for their safety with the PATRIOT act and the mounting pressure from DHS in the early 2000s, they now fear the rampant deployment of ICE and the increased influence of plutocratic tech moguls upon our government.

The difference is that people  no longer speak up enough – not only because they fear for their safety, but because no one is listening. Far from being the party of “everyday people,” the Republican party seems focused entirely on making life palpably worse. If persecution of immigrants and the LGBTQ+ community was not enough to sour their image, they’ve given Americans a steadily rising cost of living and a massive surge of contaminated foodstuffs to help out. The response from the Democratic establishment has been lacking, to say the least – with most voters lacking any confidence in the congressional establishment at all.

What has wrought the most results is Mamdani’s strategy of basic changes and improvements in quality of life for New Yorkers. He has quite literally cleaned the streets of the city, with expanded trash collection routes and access; his government has provided more families with affordable, accessible childcare; and he’s made it easier for New Yorkers to run their own businesses and host social spaces. Before he entered office, Mamdani was often derided by both parties as a naïve outsider who made fantastical promises for his base. He seems to have delivered well, however; more than half of New Yorkers approve of his leadership, with 61% saying that he performed “better than expected” over his first year in office.

The ability to bring people together, to deliver on things that help those in need, seemed almost a thing of the past until Mamdani took office. Against his opponents, representing the party of me, he has provided the party of us. He refuses to stoop to the level of Republicans, or remain aloof and detached like corporate Democrats. His small victories – a change in sanitation policy here, a hundred dollars saved for each citizen there – add up to larger wins over time for him, his party, and his city. He is a shining example for young Americans, someone who actually gives us hope in the face of adversity from within and without.

Mamdani is the poster child of the American Dream: attaining high public office as a naturalized citizen and using it for the benefit of all. He is far more American than most politicians and wealthy pundits born here could ever hope to be. The quiet decorum that he exhibits perfectly befitting of this commemoration. Today, as those who lost their lives on this tragic day are remembered, we should strive for unity and a renewed sense of trust with our fellow Americans. While our political establishment exalts selfishness and greed, let Mamdani remind us of a universal truth: the only way forward is together.