From the Editors
TEN YEARS AGO, a weekday that dawned in the usual fashion was quickly eclipsed by the unthinkable. It was a day that no American will
ever forget. As disbelief gave way to despondency, we were forced to confront the
hard truth of the moment. Nothing would
ever be the same for us, or for our country.
As horrifying as the attacks were, it is
also horrifying to think about how little
has been made of the opportunities for
change that 9/11 brought. American cul-
ture has budged little from the attitudes
that fueled the disdain that resulted in
the attacks. Today’s politics are governed
by more—not less—of the sort of ideol-
ogy that Dick Cheney represented when
he stated that “the American way of life is
non-negotiable.” Even the 2008 financial
collapse, rife as it was with signs that our
economic systems are flawed and unjust,
resulted in no real change to those sys-
tems (nor — incredibly — in any judiciary
action). And it is abundantly clear that
big government and big business have no
more interest in reducing our dependence
on fossil fuels (often from countries whose
citizens resent us) now than they did a
decade ago. The irony is clear: if America’s
foreign policy was the target that put us at
risk on 9/11, then we have only repainted
that target with bolder colors.
It is even harder to reckon with the
total moral failure of the actions that the
American government has taken since
9/11. The chance to remediate decades
of failed foreign policy through more enlightened leadership has been virtually
ignored. It could take the United States
longer to recover any moral authority than
to pay for its two sprawling wars. Meanwhile, on the domestic front, we are content to see the number of Priuses on the
road slowly increase, while oil companies
continue to reap record profits.
Despite the fact that our leaders in
Washington have squandered the opportunity to make 9/11 a turning point toward
a safer, more sustainable future, millions
of individuals have taken up the task. You
know them; perhaps you are one of them.
They’re the new farmers, the a=ordable
housing advocates, the alternative energy
enthusiasts, the climate activists, the peace
workers —the list is long, and gratifying.
But nothing would matter more to our
future than to have that same level of passion and energy at the highest levels of
American government. Demanding that
leadership have that resolve is an essential
step toward a better future. A
