September 10, 2021

By David Leonhardt

Good morning. National trauma often leads to great accomplishments — but not always. And Biden takes action on vaccinations.

A second plane approaching the World Trade Center before hitting the South Tower on Sept. 11, 2001.Kelly Guenther for The New York Times

A missing legacy

The great crises in U.S. history have often inspired the country to great accomplishments.

The Civil War led to the emancipation of Black Americans and a sprawling program of domestic investment in railroads, colleges and more. World War II helped spark the creation of the modern middle class and cemented the so-called American Century. The Cold War caused its own investment boom, in the space program, computer technology and science education.

The attacks of Sept. 11 — which occurred on a sparkling late-summer morning 20 years ago tomorrow — had the potential to leave their own legacy of recovery. In sorrow and anger, Americans were more united in the weeks after the attacks than they had been in years. President George W. Bush's approval rating exceeded 85 percent.

It isn't hard to imagine how Bush might have responded to Sept. 11 with the kind of domestic mobilization of previous wars. He could have rallied the country to end its reliance on Middle Eastern oil, a reliance that both financed radical American enemies and kept the U.S. enmeshed in the region. While attacking Al Qaeda militarily, Bush also could have called for enormous investments in solar energy, wind energy, nuclear power and natural gas. It could have been transformative, for the economy, the climate and Bush's historical standing.

Bush chose a different path, one that was ambitious in its own right: the "freedom agenda." He hoped that his toppling of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein in Iraq would inspire people around the world to rise up for democracy and defeat autocracy. For a brief period — the Arab Spring, starting in 2010 — his vision almost seemed to be playing out.

Today, though, we know it did not. Bush and his team bungled Iraq's postwar reconstruction. In Afghanistan, the U.S. rejected a Taliban surrender offer, and the Taliban recovered to win the war. In Egypt and Syria, autocrats remain in power.

Some wars have left clear legacies of progress toward freedom — like the anti-colonization movement and the flowering of European democracy that followed World War II. The post-9/11 wars have not. If anything, the world has arguably become less democratic in recent years.

Twenty years after Sept. 11, the attacks seem likely to be remembered as a double tragedy. There were the tangible horrors: The attacks on that day killed almost 3,000 people, and the ensuing wars killed hundreds of thousands more. And there is the haunting question that lingers: Out of the trauma, did the country manage to create a better future?

A police officer covered in ash after the first building collapsed at the World Trade Center.Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

More on 9/11's legacy

The Washington Post's Carlos Lozada, surveying books about the attacks and their aftermath, writes: "9/11 was a test. The books of the last two decades show how America failed."

"Radical pessimism is a mistake," David Ignatius argues in The Post. "These two decades witnessed many American blunders but also lessons learned."

"Twenty Years Gone": The Atlantic's Jennifer Senior on one family's heartbreaking loss and struggle to move on.

"The fact that the United States itself went on to attack, and wreak even greater violence against innocent civilians around the world, was largely omitted from official narratives," the novelist Laila Lalami writes for Times Opinion.

"The twin towers still stand because we saw them, moved in and out of their long shadows, were lucky enough to know them for a time." Colson Whitehead wrote this essay shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks. Many people revisit it.

Michele Defazio on Sept. 11, holding up a poster of her missing husband, Jason Defazio, who worked in One World Trade Center.Krista Niles/The New York Times

From The Times

Dan Barry asks what it means to "never forget" given the inevitable fallibility of human memory.

Jennifer Steinhauer speaks to veterans of two wars that followed the attacks. "I am still fighting a little bit of that war, inside," one said.

Elizabeth Dias reports that the deluge of anti-Muslim hate that followed the attacks has forged a new generation of Muslim Americans determined to define their place in the country.

The site of the World Trade Center "still feels like an alien zone," Michael Kimmelman, The Times's architecture critic, writes. But the rest of Lower Manhattan has bloomed.

The remains of more than 1,100 victims have never been identified. But New York City continues to search for DNA matches, Corey Kilgannon writes — a task the chief medical examiner called "a sacred obligation."

THE LATEST NEWS

The Virus

"We can and we will turn the tide on Covid-19," President Biden said yesterday.Al Drago for The New York Times

President Biden ordered sweeping vaccine mandates for around 100 million federal employees, health care workers and many other private-sector workers.
"We've been patient, but our patience is wearing thin," Biden said of eligible Americans who have not yet gotten vaccinated. "Your refusal has cost all of us."
The private-sector mandate will apply to companies with at least 100 employees.
The federal government will also spend $2 billion to make rapid tests more available.
Republicans responded with outrage, many doctors with praise and experts with caution.
Los Angeles is the first big school district to mandate vaccines for students 12 and older. Biden called on schools to require vaccinations for teachers and staff.
Vaccine mandates are an American tradition. So are backlashes.

Politics

The Justice Department sued Texas over its new anti-abortion law, which Attorney General Merrick Garland called "clearly unconstitutional."
Biden withdrew his nomination of David Chipman to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, after Republicans highlighted Chipman's criticisms of gun owners.
A new Missouri law puts local police departments at legal risk if they work with federal agents on some kinds of gun cases.

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MORNING READS

Up for auction: 1,700 arcade games.

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Modern Love: She tried to be chill. It didn't work.

A Times classic: How to talk to people, according to Terry Gross.

Lives Lived: Sunil Perera entertained generations of Sri Lankans on the radio and the dance floor with his distinctive, Latin-infused tunes. He died at 68.

ARTS AND IDEAS

The next queen of daytime TV

Kelly Clarkson has worn many hats. After winning the inaugural season of "American Idol," she's had an award-winning music career and now she's set to become the heir to Ellen DeGeneres's daytime talk show throne, Dave Itzkoff writes in The Times.

Last spring, "The Kelly Clarkson Show" drew an average daily audience of about 1.3 million viewers — frequently putting it ahead of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and "The Rachael Ray Show," though behind "Dr. Phil" and "Live With Kelly and Ryan." Clarkson's program — a blend of celebrity interviews, games and slice-of-life segments — will take the "Ellen" slot when its host steps down next year.

Clarkson's relatable candor is part of the reason she got the show. Her path to fame also distinguishes her — millions of viewers voted for her "American Idol" victory in 2002, and are invested in her success. "People are rooting for her in a different way," Alex Duda, the talk show's showrunner, said.

Clarkson said "Idol" had unwittingly prepared her for a future in daytime television. "We were on TV all the time," she said. To this day, she never worries about having something to say when a camera is pointed at her: "That can be scary for other people sometimes, like, Oh God, what's she going to say?" — Sanam Yar, a Morning writer

PLAY, WATCH, EAT

What to Cook

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Plum torte is a crowd-pleasing classic.

What to Listen to

J Balvin attempts to reintroduce himself on "Jose," his new album.

Art Fair

Here's what to see at the Armory Show, New York's largest in-person fair since the pandemic.

Late Night

The hosts discussed herd immunity.

Take the News Quiz

See how well you do compared with other Times readers on this week's quiz.

Now Time to Play

The pangram from yesterday's Spelling Bee was cacophony. Here is today's puzzle — or you can play online.

Here's today's Mini Crossword, and a clue: "Jeez!" (five letters).

If you're in the mood to play more, find all our games here.

Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you Monday. — David

P.S. Ellen Pollock, The Times's Business editor, received the Gerald Loeb lifetime achievement award. "Her leadership has transformed a major section of the newsroom," the Loebs wrote.

Here's today's print front page.

"The Daily" is about conspiratorial thinking after 9/11. "The Ezra Klein Show" features the economist Tyler Cowen.

Claire Moses, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Tom Wright-Piersanti, Ashley Wu and Sanam Yar contributed to The Morning. You can reach the team at themorning@nytimes.com.