When some major world event happens - a natural disaster, terrorist attack, political maneuvering - I always wonder how long it will take before that moment becomes “history”. Not in the strict timeline sense, but in the way that the event, at some intangible tipping point, ceases being fresh and newsworthy and drifts into the sterile zone of TV retrospectives, in-depth book analyses and (my personal favorite) history class lectures.

There is no need to discuss the whos and whats of today’s somber anniversary - you already know the facts down to their last detail. What I want to know is when will 9/11 become “the past”? In 2001, my guess was later rather than sooner, and most other journalists tended to agree. But now, five years later, there are stirrings: some are ambivalent about commemorating the day, others are stripping away at the previously untouchable varnish of its heroes, still others are disillusioned with what unfurled after America was attacked. On all fronts, people seem less afraid to look at 9/11 with a critical eye, dissect what happened and how it’s changed the country and the world, for better or for worse.

It’s still early in the game, but I bet the 9/11 survey courses will start popping up at American universities after this fifth anniversary has faded from view.