The grief in the weeks after Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks
contrasted with the jubilation in front of the White House
Sunday night. Getty Images  As I watched the crowds gathering
outside the White House on TV Sunday night in the wake of the
news that Osama bin Laden had been killed, I spotted a young
woman standing atop another's shoulders to get a better view of
the festivities, and then a second, and a third. When they
dismounted they all did so in the same way—with a sprightly,
confident controlled fall, vanishing back into the arms of the
crowd.  They were obviously cheerleaders, probably from one of
the several colleges within a few miles of the White House. They
appeared the same age as one of my daughters—in their early 20s.
The sight of them made me wonder what, if any, lasting effect
the events of 9/11 had on them, and on my children, what scars
it left. The frat-house atmosphere suggested not much.  "The
response was much more patriotism than reverence or fear," my
daughter said over the phone