Remberance of things past: 9/11

Looking at the enormous urban square that was once the Twin Towers leads Anna Quindlan in Newsweek to say:

There was a moment when it seemed that what had happened to this nation would result in an unparalleled display of those things that make America great: audacity, community, a sense of the future as a broad plain upon which this country could make its mark for good. Instead, at almost every turn, our government and, yes, many of our citizens took the narrowest road. Instead of expanding we contracted. Instead of a new juncture, we retreated to old ways.