Every American remembers exactly how it unfolded and where they were and what they were doing on that terrible morning of September 11. And like any other unprecedented historic jolt, September 11 continues to roil our collective mind. We still ponder the questions it raised: What changed that day? What remains of the old? What is truly new? The essays in this collection examine these and other questions, taking a sometimes sobering, sometimes uplifting look at a historic turning point in our lives. The contributors examine the challenges and dangers of our new foreign policy and the sense that we have only seen the opening stage of a long-term realignment. They also examine our domestic politics, revealing that, with the exception of national security matters, partisan considerations remain as strong as before. A look at the Islamic world after 9/11 shows how, as never before, it is understood that American assertiveness is the main deterrent against Islamist terror and a stabilizing force in an unsteady cultural sphere.
Two essays seize the opportunity September 11 has opened to reflect in the most profound sense on what it is we are fighting for—and why we are fighting despite having lost our ability to speak the language of honor. A series of memorable vignettes describes Hollywood's clueless response to September 11 and reveals how the stark reality of America attacked has shaken popular culture to its foundation. The collection concludes with an inspiring report on the response of Mayor Rudolf Giuliani and the people of New York—once again reminding us where America's real strengths lie.
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Wladyslaw Pleszcyzynski, former executive editor of the American Spectator, is a distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution and the editor of TheAmericanProwler.org.
Our Brave New World
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, founded at Stanford University in 1919 by Herbert Hoover, who went on to become the thirty-first president of the United States, is an interdisciplinary research center for advanced study on domestic and international affairs. The views expressed in its publications are entirely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff, officers, or Board of Overseers of the Hoover Institution.
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Hoover Institution Press Publication No. 514 Copyright © 2002 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University
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First printing 2002
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Our brave new world : essays on the impact of September 11 / edited by Wladyslaw Pleszczynski. p. cm. (Hoover Institution Press publication ; no. 514) Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8179-3902-4 (paperback) — ISBN 0-8179-3901-6 (casebound) 1. Civilization, Modern—21st century. 2. World politics—21st century. 3. September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001. I. Pleszczynski, Wladyslaw, 1949– . II. Hoover Institution Press publication ; 514. CB430 .O928 2002
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