The Conversation

- As a young man I often disagreed with your father, yet after he died, I drove down Michigan Avenue, I saw the cross on the Prudential Building and tears came to my eyes, because I knew that a man who cared for the city had passed away. What are your feelings for the city?

R.M.D.: People have their differences. Families have differences. Brother and sister, father and mother, even they have differences. But one thing you should not do in the United States is hate somebody because of political differences. Once hate takes over, attitudes of: I don’t like that person, you lose the principles of democracy, which we stand for, and which command respect for one other. No one is obliged to agree with me, and I don’t agree with anyone hundred percent. But, once again, we have to have passion and love the city and what we are doing. We should have more passion in the federal government, more passion in state government, more passion to get things done. To compete with China and India. We don’t understand that the wealthy will get wealthier, and America will lack a vision to deal globalization. We are afraid of it, but we should educate people about it; we should educate people about a knowledge-based society. If we do that, America will be better off.

After the interview, an assistant from the mayor’s press office lead us to the City Hall Building’s rooftop. The heavy metal door opened. The view was breathtaking: bushes, herbs, tall grasses, flowers growing on the sculpted terrain. There is something magical about this site. It brings to mind a child’s pay; a child who is much smarter than the adults around him. I keep hearing the words: “You see, this is beautiful, it’s smart, and it’s cost effective.” You don’t always have to endure the sight of utilitarian, rubber-rolled roofs. Those roofs are not only ugly; they’re ineffective and expensive to maintain. They raise the air temperature, creating a greater need for air-conditioning; they don’t absorb rain water, and create a flood hazard during storms. I walked among the plants of the rooftop garden, surrounded by high-rises. I looked at the wind blowing through the prairie grass and I thought: fables and bedtime stories can become true in this most pragmatic of centuries if only the purity of a vision is supported by the strength of a man.