The Volokh Conspiracy
Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent
Remembering September 12, 2001
Every year, I post a remembrance of September 11, 2001. It is also worth remembering what happened on September 12, 2001. Around the globe, there was unified support for the United States, and the victims of atrocious acts of horror. Everyone was willing to stand in solidarity with Americans. Virtue signaling is always easy enough.
But that uniform support faded rather quickly. As it became clear that the United States was on a war footing, the opposition began. On September 14, the ANSWER Coalition formed. (The acronym stood for "Act Now to Stop War and End Racism.") By September 29, ANSWER and others organized protests against military intervention in Afghanistan. And on October 7, 2001, the United States invaded Afghanistan. (That day I was doing a campus visit of NYU, a school I was admitted to, but decided not to attend, in part, because I didn't want to be so close to lower-Manhattan--in hindsight, the absolute right decision that had nothing to do with terrorism.)
Over the next few years, the memories of 9/11 vanished. All of the tattered American flags were removed and the "thank you for your services" ended. There was a constant, never-ending series of public protests against the Afghanistan war, and later against the Iraq war. Students held "die-ins" on campus where they would pretend to be dead in coffins. President Bush was called Hitler over and over again. Musicians would weave in anti-war themes into their songs. (For years, I couldn't listen to Green Day.) And so on. Thank the lord there was no social media in the day.
There may be some sense of unity now, only a few days after the October atrocities in Israel. But it will fade very, very quickly. And we all know how things will go--especially since this war will involve the Jewish state. There is nothing new under the sun.
