Dear Editor,

The architectural submissions for replacing the World Trade Center have been revealed and met with a collective yawn.

I am not an American but I love what those towers represented. The Statue of Liberty stands as a symbol of freedom and liberty. The twin towers were symbols of free enterprise and prosperity. Together they defined not only the City of New York, but America.

The twin towers were not just buildings. They advertised America to the world. The world is now watching to see if America still believes in itself. The world is watching to see what America's message will be.

The submissions for what might be built to replace this symbol of America, in my mind, represent defeat. None of the proposals can replace what the twin towers represented.

Is this the message you want to send to your children? To other terrorists? To the world?

If the Statue of Liberty had been the target, would you accept four half-height statuettes in its place?

There are those who say that if the twin towers were rebuilt it would be hard to find tenants. It doesn't matter. As an American symbol, it may be up to the country to provide financial encouragement for the rebuilding and to guarantee the leasing. It will be necessary to provide increased military protection of the buildings. This is war. No one said it would be easy.

Pearl Harbor was rebuilt. The Pentagon is being rebuilt. The towers must be rebuilt.

Call the new towers the Memorial Towers. Engrave the names of those who perished at the base of the towers for all to see. Remember those who fell, that we must not take our freedoms for granted, and why the towers had to be rebuilt.

Tell the world America cannot and will not be beaten. America will not be deterred from its goals, its dreams, its power, and its way of life. Fight. Do not submit. Rebuild your towers. Don't let them win.

Doug Bannister
Toronto, Canada