This tribute is part of a series of reflections from HLS faculty, staff and alumni on the 15th anniversary of 9/11. View all tributes.
Contributor: Kevin Moody
“9/11 is yet another inflection point in the history of our country, and we are changing as a society because of this national tragedy. Despite it all, we should never forget about the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives on that day.”
Kevin Moody is the assistant dean and chief human resources officer at Harvard Law School. He previously served as senior director of administration and chief human resources officer at Emory Law School, in Atlanta. Before embarking on his career in human resources, Moody served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a captain and air traffic control operations officer.
Our world has changed in many ways since September 11, 2001. The fifteen years since the 9/11 attacks have been marked by the death of Osama bin Laden and the weakening of the Taliban and al-Qaeda. We have also witnessed the proliferation of ideological extremists and the subsequent rise of homegrown terrorism.
Many people feel that expanded governmental oversight and other regulations have encroached upon the freedoms that we enjoyed in the pre-9/11 era; however, the domestic and international air travel system has been made more secure because of these very changes. Our country has grown more diverse while we have seemingly become less inclusive and more intolerant of the biological, social, and cultural differences that make us unique. At the same time, technology and the explosion of social media have permeated our lives and connected us in ways that were virtually unimaginable at the turn of the 21st century.
I recognize that 9/11 is yet another inflection point in the history of our country, and we are changing as a society because of this national tragedy. Despite it all, we should never forget about the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives on that day.