A long entry over on Done With Mirrors that is well worth the read.
“Like a lot of people raised in my generation, I was mistrustful of U.S. military power, and selfish nationalism. Like a lot of people, I recited the litany of “stupid American” stories and jokes. In those days, I regarded America as almost God-like in its invulnerability. Thus I naturally had a root-for-the-underdog identification with any people or group I felt as a victim of U.S. power. Like you’d slap a bad kid for kicking a dog. The slap won’t hurt the child, but the kick could kill the dog.
Then I saw the reeking ruins in New York city. 3,000 dead — people just like me, who probably told the same jokes and held the same views. Why dead? Because they were Americans. The edifice of the country shook, and it made me realize, this place is mortal, like any nation. Like the moment you realize that, someday, your parents are going to die, it changes you.” – quote in context