A mericans and others around the world were glued to their television sets in the first hours and days after the attacks of September 11, 2001. They watched in shock, disbelief, fear, sadness, and anger as television networks replayed the footage of the planes crashing into the towers and the towers' subsequent collapse. Many could not fully comprehend the reality of the situation, and remarked that it seemed as if they were watching a movie. For many New Yorkers, the twin towers had dominated their lives every day, and they were stunned by the hole their absence made in the skyline.

When the terrorists attacked the World Trade Center towers, they destroyed not only a symbol of America—one that awed all those who saw them towering 110 stories into the sky—but Americans' feelings of power, privilege, and confidence. After the attacks, Americans...