If you let them substantially change your day-to-day life, they've won. And the disconnect was only among those who don't fully connect with America anyway- liberals.
Yes people needed to carry out life, but I think people also need to feel they are part of the war effort, support. We did not and do not have that. People carried on with their lives during WWII, but they also realized constantly that this country was at war.
The American people wanted more than anything right after 9/11 to do something...and the president told them to go shopping. There should have been some ways for people to feel they were doing something for the war effort. In the past Americans were made to feel whatever they did was part of the war effort...and most things do have a connection.
One of my daughters gave a speech a few months after 9/11 and she wrote about the feeling that Americans had during WWII and prior wars, knowing their job or business in some way supported the war. War bonds, victory gardens, ETC. Her speech ended with all the things needed for military support beyond weapons and ammo...companies that make military clothing, companies that provide MREs, you name it. Those in the audience said they had never thought about all of those things- no idea ordinary people can be and often are part of the war effort but are no longer told that. Large numbers of National Guard were involved in the war on terror so there was an ordinary connection of all the businesses that had employees leave for deployment.
The disconnect of the people to the military during a war was not new, it goes back to Korea and more so Vietnam. The thing is 9/11 was a missed opportunity to revive that, people were ready- our leadership missed that. We had been attacked, here at home! I think the reassurances President Bush gave people, and the advice to carry on was good, but he should not have left it at that. People were asking what they could do; that is when they should have been told things they could do, maybe we should have done war bonds or something.
I don’t know what the answer is but it really does bother me when our military is at war and our country is not. That feeds those that blame the military for wars, the disrespect many have for our country, our flag, our military, and even our country and what we stand for. If we can’t find a way to make people feel a connection I don’t see how we can survive as a country.