"In some ways, September 11, 2001, seems a long time ago. Yet we have done so much in only a few years, and we will continue to do so in the future, to prevent such attacks on America"
About this Quote
Time gets weaponized here, turned into a political instrument. Allen opens with a soft, almost reflective gesture: 9/11 "seems a long time ago". That line invites a strange calm, as if trauma has been safely filed away. Then he yanks the listener back: "Yet" - the hinge word that converts memory into mandate. The point isnt remembrance; its permission.
The sentence is built to do two things at once. It reassures ("we have done so much") without naming what that "so much" actually is. Thats not a gap, its the strategy. Vagueness lets every listener project their preferred post-9/11 program onto the phrase: wars, surveillance, airport security, expanded executive power. Because nothing concrete is specified, nothing can be challenged. The pronoun "we" does heavy lifting too, laundering government action into collective will, as if state decisions were the publics shared accomplishment.
Then comes the real payload: "we will continue to do so in the future". The future tense stretches emergency into an indefinite timeline. 9/11 becomes not an event but an open-ended rationale, a standing authorization for extraordinary measures. "Prevent such attacks on America" frames the nation as a perpetual target and the speaker as a steward of protection, which is especially useful for a politician whose currency is credibility on security.
Context matters: in the years after 9/11, American politics ran on the moral clarity of "never again" while quietly normalizing policies that would have seemed extreme in 2000. Allens line captures that era's signature move: soothe the public with progress, then keep the fear alive just enough to keep the machinery running.
The sentence is built to do two things at once. It reassures ("we have done so much") without naming what that "so much" actually is. Thats not a gap, its the strategy. Vagueness lets every listener project their preferred post-9/11 program onto the phrase: wars, surveillance, airport security, expanded executive power. Because nothing concrete is specified, nothing can be challenged. The pronoun "we" does heavy lifting too, laundering government action into collective will, as if state decisions were the publics shared accomplishment.
Then comes the real payload: "we will continue to do so in the future". The future tense stretches emergency into an indefinite timeline. 9/11 becomes not an event but an open-ended rationale, a standing authorization for extraordinary measures. "Prevent such attacks on America" frames the nation as a perpetual target and the speaker as a steward of protection, which is especially useful for a politician whose currency is credibility on security.
Context matters: in the years after 9/11, American politics ran on the moral clarity of "never again" while quietly normalizing policies that would have seemed extreme in 2000. Allens line captures that era's signature move: soothe the public with progress, then keep the fear alive just enough to keep the machinery running.
Quote Details
| Topic | War |
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