or many Americans, it’s now possible to think of 9/11 as the past—a sad and unsettling memory. In New York, however, the tragedy is still part of everyday life, just like the rattle of subway trains and shouts of children in the schoolyards.

I realized this on a recent visit to the city for a conference titled “American Spirit, Values, and Power.” Strolling after breakfast one day, I passed the Squad 18 firehouse in Greenwich Village and remarked to myself how much younger firefighters look these days. Then—pow!—it hit me. I looked again and saw a plaque honoring seven American heroes. The young firefighters lounging on the sidewalk were filling the boots of men who died in the ruins of the World Trade Center.

Everything changed on September 11, 2001. That’s what we all told each other in the days that followed, and it has proven more true than I imagined. Our safe distance from the turmoil of an angry world has disappeared. And the shape of American politics has dramatically shifted. Minnesota, where I live, is being convulsed by the policies of a new hard-core conservative governor (our first since at least the 1920s) who was elected in large part for his vigorous promises to protect us from foreigners who might possibly be terrorists.

It’s hard to recall that two years ago on September 10, George W. Bush was struggling against surprisingly low poll ratings and the stigma that he “won” the election thanks to Supreme Court justices, not American voters. Democrats, not yet squeamish about criticizing the administration, were enthusiastic about their chances to take back Congress. Demonstrators opposed to corporate globalization were filling the streets in rising numbers.

That seems long, long ago. I’m not quite sure how he did it, although an unparalleled gush of media idolization helped, but when the smoke of 9/11 cleared, Bush the younger somehow emerged as a courageous, battle-tested leader. All the laurels and public devotion of a wartime president have been bestowed upon him, which White House strategists brilliantly capitalized on to win the 2002 elections and enact a bare-knuckled right-wing agenda on everything from cutting upper-income taxes to gutting environmental laws. Republicans’ opponents, no matter how timid their disagreement, have been effectively painted as not truly patriotic Americans.