How Has 9/11 Changed You?

Seeing as we are commemorating (or just commemorated) the 10^th anniversary of 9/11, I thought it wise to share something I read in the September 2011 edition of the Reader’s Digest.  The piece is entitled “How 9/11 Changed America” by Kenneth Miller.  I found the article (the 2nd Part) very insightful, and thought I should share its main arguments using key quotes from it:

So basically, it states that Americans have changed their attitudes in 5 main areas:

1.       Privacy: According to the article, Americans have now accepted less privacy in their lives not only because of the enduring searches they have to go through at airports, but also because of the passage and the implementation of the Patriot Act, “which expanded federal officials’ powers to keep tabs on our personal information, from credit card use to cell phone calls to car travel.”

2.       Islam: Also, since 9/11, Americans have become less tolerant of Islam. The article gives evidence of this: “a recent Pew Forum on Religion & Public life poll found that only 30 percent of Americans hold a favorable view of the Muslim religion—a sizable fall-off from the 41 percent who held a similar opinion in 2005.”

3.       Uniformed Services: Citing a Gallup Annual Poll as a source, the article asserts that in the years after 9/11, Americans have apparently had more confidence in the military than ever before. Again, Peter Feaver, a professor of political science and public policy at Duke University, who is featured in the article, says “After 9/11, there has been a spike in American pride in all our uniformed services, including firefighters and police officers.”

4.       Energy: The article says: “We now want to achieve energy independence more than ever.”

5.       Voluntarism: Following 9/11, the number of Americans who did volunteer work increased greatly growing to approximately 29 percent by 2005. The article further states: “The 63 million Americans who donate their time today average 34.2 hours a year, providing $169 billion worth of services annually, free of charge.”

Do you buy this argument? How has 9/11 changed your life?