Generational Dynamics World View

[John J. Xenakis]

** 04-Sep-2021 World View: How 9/11/2001 was a 'Regeneracy Event'

If we consider "trust in government" to be a proxy for "civic unity,"
then the attacks on 9/11/2001 clearly fit the description of a
Regeneracy Event.

The following graph from a Pew Research article shows how "trust in
government" was mostly falling steadily for decades, then spiked on
9/11/2001, but then dropped off again in the following years. (The
graph also shows an increase during the Reagan administration, but the
article doesn't say why.)

• Trust in government spiked following 9/11 terror attack (Pew Research)

The text of the article is a perfect description of what a "regeneracy
event" is, as it unified Republicans, Democrats and Independents
behind President Bush:

Quote: "Just as memories of 9/11 are firmly embedded in the
minds of most Americans old enough to recall the attacks, their
historical importance far surpasses other events in people’s
lifetimes. ...

The importance of 9/11 transcended age, gender, geographic and
even political differences. The 2016 study noted that while
partisans agreed on little else that election cycle, more than
seven-in-ten Republicans and Democrats named the attacks as one of
their top 10 historic events.

9/11 transformed U.S. public opinion, but many of its impacts were
short-lived

It is difficult to think of an event that so profoundly
transformed U.S. public opinion across so many dimensions as the
9/11 attacks. While Americans had a shared sense of anguish after
Sept. 11, the months that followed also were marked by rare spirit
of public unity.

Chart shows trust in government spiked following Sept. 11 terror
attack

Patriotic sentiment surged in the aftermath of 9/11. After the
U.S. and its allies launched airstrikes against Taliban and
al-Qaida forces in early October 2001, 79% of adults said they had
displayed an American flag. A year later, a 62% majority said they
had often felt patriotic as a result of the 9/11 attacks.

Moreover, the public largely set aside political differences and
rallied in support of the nation’s major institutions, as well as
its political leadership. In October 2001, 60% of adults expressed
trust in the federal government – a level not reached in the
previous three decades, nor approached in the two decades since
then.

George W. Bush, who had become president nine months earlier after
a fiercely contested election, saw his job approval rise 35
percentage points in the space of three weeks. In late September
2001, 86% of adults – including nearly all Republicans (96%) and a
sizable majority of Democrats (78%) – approved of the way Bush was
handling his job as president."

-- Two Decades Later, the Enduring Legacy of 9/11
https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...y-of-9-11/
(PewResearch, 2-Sep-2021)