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Last update - 02:21 11/09/2008 Seven years later By Tom Segev Tags: New York, Twin Towers Seven years ago today, it looked as though the world would never again be what it was before the attack on the World Trade Center. At the south end of Manhattan I, too, had trouble breathing, and the choking dust carried with it a yellowish, nauseating threat. A few days later, late at night, I was permitted to descend to the depths of Ground Zero with a group of rabbis who had volunteered to bring kosher sandwiches to the rescue teams. Most of the bodies had not yet been removed, the fire was still burning, and I thought that this was indeed what hell must be like. Nothing will ever be the same, I thought again. But within 24 hours of the attack, I was also thinking about the greatness of New York City: Because already in the southern parts of Central Park, I encountered a familiar routine, almost as though nothing had happened. I noticed that the Disney Store on Fifth Ave. was closed, but then I also recalled another cliche: Life goes on. New York will overcome. And it did; life continued almost the way it had been before the most dramatic attack in the history of modern terror. Advertisement On the first anniversary, everyone tried to define the historical significance of the 9/11 attacks, and to formulate profound insights about the social changes they had brought about. It was a pretentious and foolish attempt. Everyone also spoke about the patriotism that had swept America, a clear expression of insecurity and a conservative attempt to hold on to the values of the past. I remember a large American flag that was hung above the entrance to one of the last sex shops that still survived in New York. Most of those shops have since disappeared, one reason being that porn today is purchased via the Internet; in the past seven years the Web has changed the lives of far more people than did the attack on the World Trade Center. Many assumed at the time that mayor Rudy Giuliani would be the next president of the United States, and had that really happened, it would have been possible to say the attack on the Twin Towers really did make history. The real story is that the shock of the attack didn't last long, and the glory of the leader-savior enjoyed by Giuliani evaporated quite quickly. "September 11th," as people now say in almost every language, also offered a good opening for a historical discussion on the decline of America. The U.S. has lost its status as the sole superpower, and the recent economic crisis has brought about a situation whereby most Americans do not believe today that their children will live a better life than they have. This is ostensibly the most profound expression of the loss of personal security that everyone attributed to the attack; after all, the need to remove one's shoes during the security check before boarding a plane has not really changed the American dream. Nor is America sinking, of course. As opposed to the muscular atrophy that it broadcasts occasionally, during the past year, it has demonstrated social vitality and an amazing ability for renewal, with almost half of the American public apparently having decided that for the first time they are ready for a black president. The conservative patriotism that seized them seven years ago and that often includes racist elements, did not destroy their ability to advance toward their national dream. Possibly this is also happening under the influence of cinema and television. A few days before the attack on the Trade Center, I saw Harrison Ford in the role of the president of the United States: His plane is hijacked, he protects it with his own body. When I saw the people jumping from the burning Twin Towers on television, it looked like something I had seen innumerable times in films. It took a few minutes until I understood what I was really seeing. It may be possible to defend the theory that the attacks of 9/11 did not bring about any more profound historical change because things of that kind had been seen so often on television. This week they once again screened "Air Force One" on one of the cable channels, and I noticed that President "James Marshall," the chief executive depicted by Ford, has a female vice president. She functions well. In recent years, Americans have also seen a black president as the hero of a television series. It may have worked as a general rehearsal: On television it involves no obligation, because it's not real; by the time it happens in reality, it's easier to get used to, because there's a feeling that it already happened once. Seven years after that day in September, the attack is too distant for tears, too near for understanding. Therefore, it may be no coincidence that the American media are returning this week to the survivors of the attack and the bereaved, asking them what they feel and what has happened to them since then, as though it were their private disaster. We can learn from that - it's easier to enter the culture of memory than the history books. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Star is born Report: Hezbollah taps Mughniyah replacement. The namesake Why did Holland fund megaship named after prominent Nazi?   1.   ONE THING CLEAR FOR ME 12:10  |  indrajaya 11/09/08   2.   The best 3 things about the America of 2008..... 12:34  |  Swiss (Dino) 11/09/08   3.   Segev - was this written on a day off? 12:46  |  Mike Friedman 11/09/08   4.   The Reinvented Terrorist 12:54  |  Shimon Cleopas 11/09/08   5.   The Biblical Bang 12:55  |  Shimon Cleopas 11/09/08   6.   #1 Indy......as I have told you before 13:58  |  Lynn 11/09/08   7.   Nice, Tom, but not a word about Iraq? 14:05  |  S 11/09/08   8.   Mike Friedman....I will agree with your assessment 14:23  |  Lynn 11/09/08   9.   Wars aren`t to save the people but the state. Which state? 14:27  |  Maureen Ann 11/09/08   10.   This is nonsense Lynn 15:29  |  Mike Friedman 11/09/08   11.   To Lynn 15:35  |  Prisoner 11/09/08   12.   INDRAJAYA ONE THING CLEAR FOR ME.Islamist threats from Islamists 15:57  |  PETER SM 11/09/08   13.   # 11, PRISONER 16:11  |  indrajaya 11/09/08   14.   35 YEARS LATER TOO: CHILE 9/11/1973. 16:15  |  Roberto Feldmann 11/09/08   15.   Vote-Elect Mc Cain-Palin 16:36  |  Joseph.E 11/09/08   16.   indrajaya-`I told you before` #1 16:39  |  Roo 11/09/08   17.   Prisoner Re Lynn-`idiot`-#11 16:56  |  Roo 11/09/08   18.   #15 Joseph: McCain has a good chance to win! 17:18  |  Alicia 11/09/08   19.   Swiss, interesting to see you bring up 2 party rule in U.S. 17:35  |  newageblues 11/09/08   20.   Seven years later 17:50  |  Ralph 11/09/08   21.   Alicia-you are indeed correct 18:32  |  Roo 11/09/08   22.   About Lynn and Political Parties 19:02  |  CCB 11/09/08   23.   # 19 newageblues 19:42  |  Swiss (Dino) 11/09/08   24.   It can happen again and probably will 19:48  |  Voice of Reason 11/09/08   25.   7 years later loonies still blame USA and Israel for the attack 19:54  |  Anonymous 11/09/08   26.   9/11 and heroism 20:04  |  Anonymous 11/09/08   27.   Racist Conservatives? 20:18  |  Will 11/09/08   28.   9/11 Lesson As To How to Use Tragedy For Political Purposes 23:22  |  Baruch Gold 11/09/08   29.   To #10 Mike Friedman 23:26  |  Proud Israeli 11/09/08   30.   The dream of most Americans will never be realized... 23:28  |  Akiva P 11/09/08   31.   115 LIES about 911 23:54  |  Dr. David Ray Griffi 11/09/08   32.   115 LIES about 911 23:55  |  Dr. David Ray Griffi 11/09/08   33.   115 LIES about 911 23:55  |  Dr. David Ray Griffi 11/09/08   34.   115 LIES about 911 23:56  |  Dr. David Ray Griffi 11/09/08   35.   115 LIES about 911 23:57  |  Dr. David Ray Griffi 11/09/08   36.   115 LIES about 911 23:57  |  dr. David Ray Griffi 11/09/08   37.   115 LIES about 911 23:58  |  Dr. David Ray Griffi 11/09/08   38.   115 LIES about 911 23:58  |  Dr. David Ray Griffi 11/09/08   39.   115 23:58  |  Dr. David Ray Griffi 11/09/08   40.   115 LIES about 911 23:58  |  Dr. David Ray Griffi 11/09/08   41.   115 LIES about 911 23:59  |  Dr. David Ray Griffi 11/09/08   42.   115 LIES about 911 23:59  |  Dr. David Ray Griffi 11/09/08   43.   115 LIES about 911 23:59  |  Dr. David Ray Griffi 11/09/08   44.   115 LIES about 911 00:00  |  Dr. David Ray Griffi 12/09/08   45.   115 LIES about 911 00:00  |  Dr. David Ray Griffi 12/09/08   46.   115 LIES about 911 00:00  |  Dr. David Ray Griffi 12/09/08   47.   115 LIES about 911 00:01  |  Dr. David Ray Griffi 12/09/08   48.   115 LIES about 911 00:01  |  Dr. David Ray Griffi 12/09/08   49.   115 LIES about 911 00:01  |  Dr. David Ray Griffi 12/09/08   50.   115 LIES about 911 00:02  |  Dr. David Ray Griffi 12/09/08   51.   115 LIES about 911 00:02  |  Dr. David Ray Griffi 12/09/08   52.   #25, I don`t blame Israel and the U.S. in that way 00:04  |  newageblues 12/09/08   53.   Oil and the Ultimate Price ! 04:13  |  Akram Zekaria 12/09/08   54.   #6 Lynn. Ever asked yourself, why the date 9/11? 05:50  |  Maureen Ann 12/09/08   55.   `Nations are Not Equal` proning is overdue. 05:50  |  Akram Zekaria 12/09/08   56.   Prediction 06:41  |  Gordon 12/09/08   57.   Swiss (Dino) - on proportional representation 07:26  |  David G 12/09/08   58.   DR. DAVID RAY GRIFFI - "Believers" don`t want to see FACTS! 08:01  |  PADDY 12/09/08   59.   19# Maureen Ann. Which " War Israel had to have" ? 09:21  |  Akram Zekaria 12/09/08   60.   american dream.....? 09:31  |  ravi 12/09/08   61.   PADDY since when are those facts THE facts?? 09:48  |  PETER SM 12/09/08   62.   To #52 newageblues 10:30  |  Proud Israeli 12/09/08   63.   Dr. David Ray Griffi suffers from "Where is the Ketchup" Synrome 10:50  |  Proud Israeli 12/09/08   64.   # 57 David G 13:24  |  Swiss (Dino) 12/09/08   65.   PETER SM - The "hijackers" were mostly Saudis!!! 13:48  |  PADDY 12/09/08   66.   60# ravi Cheap childish post from India ! 07:44  |  Akram Zekaria 13/09/08   67.   Contact 17:37  |  Gus Russo 01/11/08

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