10 years on, America still afflicted by siege mentality

I wrote almost nothing, on Sunday, about the 10th anniversary of 9/11. The last sentence of "Bathos and bravado" was, "Let's move on."

My point was that I'd had enough of the endless talk about 9/11 and how it's changed our world for the worse. I expected a torrent of abuse, particularly from American readers in whose lives 9/11 might be expected to be a defining or cathartic moment. But I haven't had a single comment or e-mail.

Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks that enough is enough. Globe and Mail columnist Lawrence Martin wrote an excellent piece today entitled "Ten years after 9/11, the great power still cowers". Here's the penultimate paragraph.

The U.S. embassy in Ottawa bears testimony to the degree of intimidation. It’s still barricaded on its west side by no less than three security walls, the idea being, as nutty as it sounds, that the ramparts might slow down advancing terrorist hordes. The symbolism of the blockades can be summed up in three words: “We are afraid.” Ten years on, just as the enemy would hope, the great power still cowers.

It's true. The Excited States of America is in the grip of a deep and abiding paranoia, as witness all the talk of "credible threats" of some atrocity to be perpetrated on the Big Day, and fighter jets being scrambled to escort a couple of airliners to their destination because... errr... well, just because.

When will the USA conquer its unreasoning fear of a handful of sand niggers? Can America -- and the rest of the world -- ever get back to normal? I wouldn't bet on it.