[…] In 2019, I taught a course at UCLA on presidential rhetoric and American foreign policy. One of the speeches I had my students read was Bush’s address to Congress after 9/11.[…] Had the United States really made its entire national purpose a war against a group of terrorists? I asked them to list what they believed were the most pressing issues facing the country. Climate change topped the list. Economic inequality, student debt, structural racism, and a host of other issues filled it out. Not a single student mentioned terrorism. […] The coronavirus pandemic and a chapter of history that should have expired long ago theatlantic.com | The coronavirus pandemic and a chapter of history that should have expired long ago