Our Country Seven Years after 9/11

September 11 2001 was a day that galvanized a nation and the memories of that day remain forever burned into the public consciousness. There is a general feeling that something changed, not just on that day but in the weeks, months, and years since the attacks, although this change has been hard to quantify.

On the seventh anniversary of the attacks, Citizens for Global Solutions is poised to release a new book called Reflections: My Life My Country Seven Years After 9/11 (iUniverse). This book, edited by Raj Purohit and Tom Moran, is a collection of essays from Americans across the country. It seeks to begin a conversation at a local level to gauge how this day has shaped U.S. foreign policy in recent years, and what this means to ordinary Americans.

This book looks back in a holistic way on how individuals and our nation have been changed and in a sense, defined and redefined. The different emotions and memories of that day and what has transpired since 9/11 demonstrate an emerging pattern:

• Laura Theobald of Roseville, MN discusses in her essay how, "The days and weeks that followed 9/11 had that tense, jittery feeling of gathering storm clouds".
• "I thought we would have the wherewithal to find those responsible for 9/11 and bring them to justice," writes Nick Tafoya of Billings, MT. "I was proud… and optimistic of our early endeavor. But my optimism quickly dissipated when the Iraq operation began."
• "I live in the United States but my country is gone. I mourn for it and struggle everyday with how to fight to get it back," says Speedy Rice from San Diego, CA.

There is a consensus among the contributors that our nation's response to 9/11 and our foreign policy choices over the past several years have been flawed and made us feel less safe. Many of the 22 contributors feel that America's response-from the so-called "Global War on Terror" to our nation's use of torture-has fallen well short of our historical values.

On a more philosophical level, these essays demonstrate that the public response to 9/11 reflects the immense pride, patriotism and resilience of Americans. But it also suggests that a more shadowy side that is decidedly un-American has emerged. From the use of torture as officially sanctioned interrogation policy to the negation of habeas corpus rights to prisoners, America's response to 9/11 has at times directly contravened the rule of law.

These essays illustrate that emotions are still raw from 9/11 and the years since in peoples' daily lives. These feelings are the basis for Citizens for Global Solutions to begin a conversation on the local level. We hope that these conversations will help us chart a new course that lives up to the best and brightest of American values.

To order your copy of Reflections: My Life My Country Seven Years After 9/11 online, click here. For more information contact Richard Thelen at rthelen[at]globalsolutions.org.