Some thoughts from Peggy Noonan on the “9/11” generation — today’s college students and young adults who were in their pre-teen years when America’s invincibility ended.

I was in my mid-teens at the time, so I can relate to much of the material Noonan catalogs. Even back then, I was an avid follower of politics and world events … probably one of the few kids to watch the nightly news and read Drudge. But 9/11 heightened my interest in world affairs like no other event could.

For some in my generation, it was, in many ways, a tragedy that broke our selfish shells and prompted more concern for the world beyond our own shallow lives. For the first time, we realized there was more to life than popularity and prestige, cars and cash, music and MTV. We were reminded of the frailty of human life and our own mortality. We took God and eternity seriously. If only for a time.

Time — eight years now — has washed much of that away, but some of us still remember the lessons learned.

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” — Psalm 90:12, ESV.