So what has changed in America since 9/11? It would almost be easier to answer the question of what hasn't changed since that dark day nearly ten years ago. Practically every facet of our society was altered in some way, either by the attacks themselves, or, especially, by our response to the attacks -- a response that continues to evolve.
Looking back ten years later we can finally begin to get a sense of just how much the country was changed. Starting today, The Huffington Post will be examining the changes wrought by 9/11 from all angles.
Titled "9/11: A Decade After," the special section will collect stories from across all of HuffPost, from the economy to national security, politics, education, parenting, pop culture, and the arts. All our reporters -- including our nearly 1,000 Patch editors nationwide -- will be telling the stories of all the ways in which we're different since that day. The series starts today, with more stories being added every hour throughout the weekend. Some examples include:
Saki Knafo on 9/11 in film and Hollywood's attempts to chronicle the attacks.
Andrea Stone, John Rudolf and others look at what the 9/11 Commission recommended to plug holes in national security and where gaps still remain.
Jaweed Kaleem profiles a Muslim family -- with children born both before and after 9/11 -- set against the larger question of how young Muslim Americans see themselves today.
Tom Zeller and Lynne Peeples look back at the issue of pollution stemming from the collapse of the towers and the current struggle to win health coverage for those who have developed cancer as a result of exposure at ground zero.
Amanda Fairbanks explores how young people, who grew up with 9/11 as part of their lives, align themselves politically.
In context, of course, ten years is a relatively short amount of time in which to examine all the changes set in motion by such a profound event. But in the aftermath of the attacks, there was much debate about many elements of our society that we'd previously taken for granted. People were led to consider: what sort of nation do we want to be? How do we want to organize our communities, neighborhoods and families? What does it mean to be an American? What are the responsibilities that go along with being an American? Let's use this anniversary to once again look at these questions. The conversation starts here.