Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnnyB
I don't mean that everything was perfect back then, but if you compare the time prior to with the time since, there was certainly a lot more confidence in the stability and prosperity of Western society back then. Aspects of North American life which have really been shaken since then (security, individual liberties, economic security and prospects, a functional American government etc.) were maybe taken for granted prior to 2001 and are less so now.
I suppose in a sense I feel that what has been shaken in the time since September 11th has been more than the sum of its parts. Life has gotten tougher and the outlook has become more bleak on several fronts, but the bigger thing that was so damaged was the ideal that represented American life. The optimism and idealism that was such a strong characteristic of the culture is not what it used to be, and that is sad.
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I think what happened is that after the fall of the Soviet Union there was a sense that Western philosophy and its way of life would go on forever unchallanged. That 'optimism and idealism' was really only a one generation wonder. In reality it was too much euphoria about the state of the world post-Cold War. September 11th reminded us that once again there were parts of the world that were at odds with each other. For people in my generation we only knew a post Cold-War world where there was no fear of the bomb, no fear of terrorism, and no fear that the world might not really be ours to inherit. We were led to believe that everyone else in the world supported us and was trying to emulate us.