One Sept. 11 Lesson: A Little Bit of War Goes a Long Way

There’ve been nine anniversaries of 9/11, each with a variable mixture of grief and pride. The grief needs no explanation; it’s for the 3,000 lives lost and the shattering of innocence. The pride began as a reflex—the country survived and would rebuild. This year, for those of us who live in Lower Manhattan, that rebuilding has taken on a physical form. There’s a shiny new tower emerging where there was once rubble. A report by the Downtown Alliance rejoices that “Lower Manhattan is Back—and Better Than Ever.” A paper written last year by researchers at the New York Fed found that “the city has proved to be resilient,” and that dire predictions about 9/11’s economic impact “were not borne out.” Pride, it seems, has finally caught up with grief.

It’s a convenient and comforting view of the anniversary, but it simplifies the past 10 years. It’s been a long time since Americans endured war on our shores. Nobody around today can testify to the uncertainty and post-traumatic stress disorder left in the wake of Sherman’s March to the Sea in 1864, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t any. Those of us who lived in the shadow of the World Trade Center experienced exactly one day of war. Yet its consequences linger in unshakeable ways.