The events of September 11, 2001 changed everything. We hear sentiments such as this one often; what do they really mean? Other than the obvious-stricter security at airports, increased demand for Middle East experts-what really changed? Are Americans fundamentally different people than we were on September 10? Perhaps as a nation our priorities changed, but has our personality been altered? The 9/11 Commission Report emphasizes national unity: "remember how we all felt on September 11.not only the unspeakable horror but how we came together as a nation-one nation. Unity of purpose and unity of effort are how we will defeat this enemy." (National Commission 2004, executive summary 34).

             The raw freshness of the attacks on September 11 inspires amnesia regarding other national security crises: the attacks on Pearl Harbor, the Vietnam War, the Cuban Missile Crisis. America has never been without military involvement in the world, at least not since WWII dictated that our troops help stabilize areas like Germany, and since the Cold War necessitated our involvement in conflicts worldwide-from South America to Southeast Asia. But September 11 was the first time many Americans had to confront the reality of an attack on U.S. territory-most of the population is not even old enough to remember the Cuban missile crisis of the late 60s, much less the attack on Pearl Harbor decades before.

             During a time of crisis or threat, as the post-September 11 period has demonstrated, Americans come together in the common goal of defeating an enemy. After Pearl Harbor, Americans united in their support of joining the Allied powers in WWII. The Cold War brought with it its own enemy, the Soviet Union, which enabled the American people to rally around the cause of defeating Communism. This conflict also inspired the national unity that came after the Cuban missile crisis; in short, anytime the United States is directly threatened, the American people unite behind their perception of the enemy and in their desire to protect our nation and its attributes.