It remains, 12 years later, a moment when history was split into “before” and “after.” The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the heinous, inexplicable, cowardly acts designed to topple buildings and shatter psyches, remain a demarcation point in our history.
Since then, there have been interminable wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. There have been vast changes in our notion of the methods governments can use to protect citizens. And there have been many debates about the effectiveness of the Patriot Act, airport passenger screenings and, recently, spying on American citizens by the National Security Agency. All of these are the result — directly or indirectly — of terrorism perpetrated 12 years ago today.
Yes, much has changed since 9/11. And yet much hasn’t.
As columnist Leonard Pitts wrote on that fateful day in 2001: “Let me tell you about my people. We are a vast and quarrelsome family, a family rent by racial, social, political and class division, but a family nonetheless. . . . As Americans we will weep, as Americans we will mourn, and as Americans, we will rise in defense of all that we cherish.”
The results have been mixed since then. Any history-altering event is followed by successes and mistakes, by two steps forward and one step back. We have had to recalibrate our ideas about security, and along the way we have quarreled amongst ourselves. Yet we remain united by one basic commonality — we are Americans.