| "You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you." The quote from Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky has been with David Von Drehle for the last 20 years. It's how he ended his first column after the towers fell Sept. 11, 2001. And it's how he begins his latest, a reflection on the two decades since. Von Drehle writes that things just might have turned out differently had we managed simply to stay interested in the war born of 9/11. Instead, we found ourselves "keeping up with the Kardashians," or "making America great again," or "trading bitcoin or disassembling structures of privilege." For whatever reason, we were always drawn away by something. Various jolts woke us to reality for spells — the killing of bin Laden, the rise of ISIS — but we invariably fell back asleep. The withdrawal from Afghanistan was the latest jolt; it won't be the last. Because, as Von Drehle writes: "War maintains its unblinking, remorseless interest in us. We kid ourselves (perhaps to death) if we think for a moment the war is over."  (Ann Kiernan for The Washington Post) Our attention may wane, but war maintains its unblinking, remorseless interest in us. By David Von Drehle ● Read more » | | | | In a special 9/11 anniversary edition, a counterterrorism expert argues that the threat of foreign terrorists attacking the United States at home has vastly diminished. Plus, a writer who lost her father on Sept. 11, 2001 shares her pain after two decades. 'Please, Go On' Podcast ● By James Hohmann ● Read more » | | | | The son of a New York firefighter who died at the World Trade Center on 9/11 urges a divided country to recall the sense of unity that followed the terrorist attacks. By Marc A. Thiessen ● Read more » | | | | What we witnessed that day changed us. By Kathleen Parker ● Read more » | | | The taste for despotism, stimulated by Trump's unraveling of American political culture, is loose in the land. By Colbert I. King ● Read more » | | | | The president's order should be struck down as quickly as legally permissible. By Henry Olsen ● Read more » | | | | Why is the president's vaccine mandate needed? Because red-state governors refuse to protect their constituents. By Max Boot ● Read more » | | | | The justice's new book is a paean to the rule of law and a warning against steps that might undermine its legitimacy. By Ruth Marcus ● Read more » | | | | On Sept. 27, the court will decide whether to act in self-defense by agreeing to hear a challenge against Washington state's two-pronged assault on 2014 and 2018 rulings. By George F. Will ● Read more » | | | Trump's praise of the Confederate general isn't just ugly. It's fake history, too. By Dana Milbank ● Read more » | | | |
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