Rudolph Giuliani

Speaking at Hamilton less than two weeks after the first anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said, "Don't let (the terrorist acts of September 11) stop you from leading your life." He said, "Do start thinking about courage a bit differently. Courage is not absence of fear in a dangerous situation. The opposite is true. Courage is managing your fear in order to do what has to be done."

Giuliani said, "The attack on September 11 was about the things we do right: Political democracy … and capitalism."  He encouraged the audience of more than 5,000 to be more confident about "who and what we are as a people" and to "believe in the future."

Drawing on his many years of experience in government, Giuliani talked about making ourselves safer. He explained America was caught off guard by the attacks because the acts of  September 11 were "unbelievable."  He said, "We never anticipated an airplane being used as a missile. The unimaginable is possible."

His words of wisdom were for Americans to "relax." The chance of being killed by terrorists is much lower than the chance of being killed by a drunk driver. He said. "Let the government worry."

Giuliani explained the real test of a mature intelligent person is if he or she can we grow from their experience.  He ended his talk saying, "We're on the right track…We are the hope of the world."