by Charles Ray

Created on: January 01, 2010

September 11, 2001, was a day that shocked America to its core.  Not since the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor had Americans felt so vulnerable.  Unlike Pearl Harbor, though, we were eye witnesses to this event as it unfolded. 

As we watched those towers crumble, it seemed as if our strength crumbled along with them.  For weeks after that day, hardly a conversation took place that the subject did not arise.  The images were replayed endlessly, reminding us that we were more vulnerable to the dangers of the world than was comfortable. 

For several years after 9/11, the incident was used by politicians to advance certain policy agendas; it led to a war in Afghanistan that is still being waged; and it was given as one of the excuses for the war in Iraq.  

So traumatized were Americans by the events, tacit, and sometimes vocal support was given to all kinds of policy changes that in hindsight, were somewhat shortsighted, and served to erode some of the basic principles upon which the nation was founded. 

It has been more than eight years since those four aircraft were hijacked and used as weapons of mass murder.  One has to ask the question:  “Is the emotional impact as strong today as it was in the immediate aftermath?”  Before answering that question, it pays to consider the nature of the American character.  I have a colleague from Singapore who once said of Americans, “You guys are good for jobs that have to be done quickly and done well, but you’re just not too good at long-term and subtle.”  One of the lasting impacts of our Jacksonian heritage is that we tend to focus more on the here and now than the past.  Americans don’t like long wars, and have little appreciation for history. 

Sure, there are among us individuals (yours truly among them) who remember and appreciate the impact that historical events have on the future.  But, for the average American, past history is just that – past.  We fume, we fulminate, then we move on. 

Reactions to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq illustrate this aspect of American character.  While there were those who objected on religious, moral or practical grounds from the start, most Americans, in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, were supportive.  Eight years into the wars, public opinion has shifted.  There are now more people willing to express their objections. 

What this means to me is that, except for a few of us who appreciate history, and those who lost loved ones on 9/11, the emotional impact of that day has dissipated.  Americans might not be willing to forgive, but they seem ready to forget and get on with life.

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