As we remember the 2,977 innocent people murdered by terrorists on this day in 2001, we also are struck by something else that the nation has lost in the 19 years that have passed since that seminal event. In hindsight, it appears that 9/11 may have been our last moment of national unity.
In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, people rallied behind their love of country and were united in their resolve to get through the moment together. They were, for a short time, too, proud of their culture and unwilling to cringe before the forces of multicultural political correctness. But in the time since, there has never been a moment that has come close. Our toxic political culture permeates every aspect of American society and ensures that any national tragedy is turned instantly into the latest flashpoint.
We are under no illusions that politics was somehow all about unity back in those days. The 2000 election was one of the most contentious in history, dragging on for weeks after voting ended as the result was embroiled in recounts and lawsuits.
President George W. Bush took office treated by Democrats as an impostor illegitimately in command. The idea that the Supreme Court handed the election to Bush was accepted on the Left no matter how many times it was debunked. The subsequent battle over passage of his tax cuts was a bitter one, and when a party switch by Jim Jeffords flipped power of the Senate to Democrats, the new majority leader, Tom Daschle, had obstruction on his mind.
Yet after the planes slammed into the Twin Towers, and days later Bush stood on the rubble to declare on a bullhorn, “The people who knocked these buildings down will hear from all of us soon,” he had the nation behind him. The same man who needed a few hundred voters in Florida to put him in office less than a year earlier was sitting on a 90% approval rating by the end of September 2001. He threw out the first pitch before Game 3 of the World Series and received a standing ovation — in the South Bronx!
Meanwhile, Rudy Giuliani, who was entering the final few months in office as a polarizing figure, became “America’s Mayor” for his strong leadership after the attacks. He was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year.
Beyond the bipartisan rallying around political leaders, there was a sense of shared national purpose. At its peak in the years after 9/11, according to Gallup, 70% of those polled described themselves as “extremely” proud to be American. In its most recent survey taken last year, just 45% said the same (the number was just 22% among Democrats).
It is beyond the scope of this editorial to recount the political history of the past 19 years — the Iraq War, Obamacare, the anti-Obama Tea Party, President Trump’s election, the anti-Trump resistance, and relentless efforts by the Left to indict the nation’s founding.
But what is clear is that there has been a breakdown of national unity in the face of tragedy. While the gun rights issue has long been contentious, there was typically at least some separation between mourning a horrific shooting and resumption of the gun debate. Instead, with the help of corrosive social media, people start debating guns within seconds of news breaking of a shooting, or even when the gunman is still wreaking havoc.
Hollywood stars have always worn their activism on their designer sleeves, but politics now dominates every aspect of American culture, leaving people with no way to avoid political fights. Sports was once the ultimate escape, and now it’s become at the center of the culture wars. Professional sports leagues are in a race to see which one can look more “woke.” Under Trump, the lighthearted tradition of championship teams visiting the White House has become controversial.
The coronavirus crisis, despite the slogan “we’re all in this together,” has only deepened the national divide, with pitched battles over shutdowns, treatments, and personal behavior becoming a significant source of tension from the national level to every neighborhood.
It is difficult, then, to conceive of any sort of event akin to Sept. 11 that would produce a similar level of national unity. We must hope that we are wrong. And today of all days, everyone should think about what they can do to ensure that, when we face real crisis again, we will pull together.
