In the weeks and months after the atrocity, news media had a narrative about what it meant – basically, that it was a Pearl Harbor moment that brought America together with a new seriousness and resolve. Why didn’t 9/11 change anything? Partly because unlike Pearl Harbor, terrorism wasn’t and isn’t an existential threat. In fact, you have to wonder what the response to Pearl Harbor would have been if the GOP of 1941 had been what it was in 2001. The first day of infamy brought the country together and showed our fundamental strength.

Source: New York Times September 11, 2017 14:15 UTC