Twelve years have passed since that terrible, fateful Tuesday in 2001, when 19 Muslim extremists perpetrated the worst terrorist attack on American soil in the history of our country. They killed nearly 3000 innocent civilians, and brought down or heavily damaged the symbols of economic prosperity, freedom and military might, ideals that have put this country at the top of the list in world history. They may have done more if not for a group of patriots on United Flight 93, who chose to fight and ultimately perish for their country, rather than dying to further the twisted goals of their hijackers. We didn't know it at the time, but the terrorists did something else that day. Whether intentionally or by accident, they set in motion an inexorable change in our nation from which we've yet to recover. Ever since 9-11-2001, our country, in particular our government, has changed to the point where I barely recognize it. What has disappeared in the last dozen years, we may never reclaim.
