It has been 10 years since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and for many it feels like a lifetime.

Indeed, there is now an entire generation that knows nothing but a post-9/11 world. Since the end of the Cold War, the global political landscape had seemed for the most part peaceful and safe. World superpowers thrust-and-parried, but aggression was always balanced by reason and self-preservation. For most of the preceding half-century, international relations were far more chess than warfare.

Then, that all changed. The change had been coming for a while, but the events of 9/11 made it clear. Suddenly up for wide debate was America’s role in the world.

In fact, one of the enduring questions of the last decade has been the nature of patriotism. As Americans struggled to comprehend the stunning and sudden losses of 9/11, they were also asked to decide what it means to love their country. As we entered one war, then another, the question only became more complicated. Warfare changed. Our enemies became more difficult to recognize and define, and to separate from the innocent. The implications of our actions abroad became more difficult to determine.

The political debate has taken a divisive, nasty turn since Sept. 11, 2001, helped not in the least by politicians, who on a large scale co-opted words like freedom, country and patriotism for their own advancement.

But on this 10th anniversary, we should remember the simple, gut reactions of Americans – and others across the world – who in the time after the attacks wanted just to help the person next to them.

“The best part – I have never felt such a feeling of community, of nationalism I guess you’d call it, but in the best sense of the word,” said George Schuman of Cape Elizabeth, who in 2001 worked for the Port Authority in Manhattan, and spent time at ground zero after the attacks, “of people driving in truckloads and truckloads of protective clothing, of people from the south coming up with their barbecue trucks and staying there for two months, feeding people for free. There was so much support, so much harmony. I had never felt anything quite like it. My words fail me because it was such a strong, positive response to such a hideous action.”

An equally enduring, yet more positive, development in the aftermath of 9/11 has been the deepening appreciation for the service provided by public safety personnel. It began with the nation honoring the first responders, who on that day performed countless acts of bravery, heroism and personal sacrifice, though we must continue the fight to ensure that 9/11 responders who have fallen ill receive the healthcare they deserve.

That goodwill and admiration soon spread to police officers, firefighters and EMTs in departments across the country, as evidenced by the Maine Public Safety Pipe & Drum Corps, which formed after 9/11 to play at funerals for fallen emergency responders in this state. In Maine, we owe a particular debt to the volunteer responders who are prepared leave their day jobs at a moment’s notice to answer a call.

For full-time personnel, the day-to-day job can be mundane, with 99 percent of time spent patrolling for speeders, writing reports and answering commonplace calls. But they must always be on guard for that 1 percent of the time when things can go wrong and they must make life-or-death decisions in the time it takes to pull a trigger.

Through their Facebook pages, police departments such as Scarborough and Westbrook have started posting memorials to public safety officers from around the country who have died in the line of duty. It is a fitting reminder of the sacrifices that are made, whether they play out in a burning skyscraper as the world watches, or in the lonely darkness of a late-night road stop.

Ben Bragdon is the managing editor of Current Publishing. He can be reached at bbragdon@keepmecurrent.com or followed on Twitter.

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