links for 2010-03-10

It is my view that, here in America, our Age of Trauma began with the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. In horrifyingly demonstrating that even America can be assaulted on its native soil, the attack of 9/11 was a devastating collective trauma that shattered our customary illusions of safety, inviolability, and grandiose invincibility--illusions that had long been mainstays of the American historical identity. The economic meltdown and the fall of iconic companies and financial institutions inaugurated a second wave of collective trauma.