Since 9/11, New Heroes and Villains

The Washington Post ^ | Friday, September 6, 2002 | David Ignatius

[7thson]

PARIS -- One simple way to think about how the world changed in the past year is to note that ordinary firefighters became America's heroes and brilliant financial tycoons became villains.

Heroes and villains define the cultural values of any society -- in that sense, you are what you admire. And by that measure, we really do live in a different world from the one that existed a year ago. Simple, working-class virtues have come back, not simply into fashion but into our hearts. My French friends got a lump in the throat when they saw the Fire Department of New York truck come rolling down the Champs Elysees on Bastille Day, just like the Americans who for months after Sept. 11 left flowers and notes at the firehouses of New York.

[7thson]

Another good piece, IMHO.