True patriotism: Healthy skeptism
Many Americans have become born-again believers in patriotism since September 11, some to their own surprise. Writing the “My Turn” column in Newsweek, for instance, 20-something Rachel Newman confessed that before 9/11 she and her girlfriend had been talking about moving to another country because of the perceived inequalities in the U.S. All that changed after the terrorist attacks: then she realized she had taken American freedoms for granted. Though she would never have classified herself this way beforehand, now she calls herself a patriot.