Arthur Brooks reflects on the events of September 11, 2001, recalling his personal experience in New York City that day and noting how Americans united in response to the attacks. He cites Pew Research data showing a significant increase in trust towards the federal government from 31% before the attacks to 60% immediately after, alongside heightened volunteerism across various causes unrelated to 9/11.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-14,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Twenty-five years after the September 11, 2001 attacks, the event continues to have profound personal and societal impacts. Colin McShane, whose firefighter father died that day when he was just 4½ years old, reflects on his loss and the missed opportunity to truly know his dad. Meanwhile, Sue Riccardelli and Maureen Murray of New Jersey honor their hosts in Gander, Newfoundland, who took care of stranded passengers after 9/11 by flying a flag outside their home and bringing it to performances of "Come From Away," a musical about the event. In New York City, 2,977 people died at ground zero, including 79 workers from Windows on the World restaurant; many more responders have since fallen ill or died due to exposure to toxins while working at the site in its aftermath. The long-term health program for those affected by 9/11 has struggled with funding shortages and is now treating individuals who are still getting sick decades later, leading to a higher death toll from post-attack illnesses than initial casualties.
Written for “9/11 Aftermath Memories Reflections” on 2026-09-14,
grounded in this article and the 168 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning score +0.35 for article 8856 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-14
One gorgeous Tuesday morning 25 years ago, I grabbed a cab from LaGuardia Airport into New York City.
asserted
I → grab → City
I was there for only a day to do a few meetings.
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I → do → meetings
From the Long Island Expressway, somewhere around Sunnyside, Queens, I looked out the window at the remarkable Lower Manhattan skyline.
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I → look → skyline
At which point, the side of the World Trade Center’s North Tower exploded.
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side → explode → Tower
Traffic snarled almost immediately, and within minutes, fire trucks began to race past us into the Queens–Midtown Tunnel toward Manhattan.
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trucks → snarl → Manhattan
In that tunnel about 15 minutes later, I learned via the taxi’s radio that an airplane had smashed into the North Tower, and that the South Tower had now been hit as well.
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Tower → learn → Tower
I got out at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 37th Street, where I had a direct view of the towers, which were both engulfed in smoke.
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which → get → smoke
Over the next 90 minutes, it became clear that this was no accident.
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this → become → minutes
I watched as the towers crumbled to the ground.
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towers → watch → ground
Every Free Press reader over a certain age has a story about where they were when this terrorist atrocity occurred.
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atrocity → have → story
Many, like me, witnessed it with their own eyes—or, far worse, lost friends and loved ones in the attack.
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Many → witness → attack
For all the horror of that day, however, most of us will also remember something very positive that happened in the immediate aftermath: America came together.
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America → remember → aftermath
According to the Pew Research Center, right before the attacks, 31 percent of Americans said that they trusted the federal government to do what was right “just about always” or “most of the time”; shortly after, that number had nearly doubled, to 60 percent, a 30-year high.
uncertain
number → accord → percent
New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani was widely celebrated as “America’s Mayor,” and President George W. Bush’s favorability rating sat at 90 percent by late September 2001.
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rating → celebrate → September
Trust in government and leadership may not seem like an automatic proxy for national unity but, in fact, it does track closely with how positive and engaged citizens feel about their larger community.
uncertain
citizens → seem → community
Volunteering rates skyrocketed, not just for 9/11-related charities, but for those unconnected with the tragedy as well.
asserted
rates → skyrocket → tragedy
