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A brief period of political civility followed the 9/11 attacks

By Jandoli Institute on September 11, 2023 • ( 0 )

By Richard Lee

As we observe the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, I have vivid memories of what happened in the political world after Sept. 11, 2001.

At the time, I was working for Jim McGreevey, who was running for governor in New Jersey. Campaigns tend to heat up after Labor Day – and that is exactly what was happening in New Jersey and around the country. Candidates’ schedules were packed with numerous events planned for the weeks ahead – rallies, press conferences, speeches and more.

Suddenly everything stopped. With nearly 3,000 killed in the attacks and the nation in shock, normal politicking did not seem appropriate. McGreevey was mayor of Woodbridge, New Jersey, so he stepped away from the campaign trail to take care of his hometown. Other candidates did the same.

Eventually, as the healing began, political campaigns resumed – but with an unusual tone of civility. Personal attacks and negative campaigning were absent. It was a strange but heartwarming time for American politics that restored faith not only in democracy but in people in general.

Unfortunately, that tranquility was short-lived. Politics eventually returned to normal, and as we have learned, America has become more and more polarized in the 22 years since the attacks.

Given today’s political climate, it is easy to be pessimistic about the future, but the fact that Americans put aside their differences and came together for a few weeks in the fall of 2001 gives us hope, albeit slim, for a brighter future.

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On the evening of the attacks, members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, gathered on the steps of the Capitol and spontaneously started singing “God Bless America.” Watch here for a rare and unscripted moment of bipartisan unity.

Richard Lee, executive director of the Jandoli Institute, is a professor in the Jandoli School of Communication at St. Bonaventure University. He covered politics and government as a reporter and later served as Deputy Director of Communication for two New Jersey governors.