For me, 9-11 was life changing. The company that recruited me here to Seattle had to lay me off(as well as a huge % of the folks who had my same job responsibility in the global corporation). The team of people I had been working with in our NY branch (they were in the tower, flr 86) were dead. It was a shock.
I can't say I do anything differently, and I do still sip Diet Coke, but I sure think differently. I feel differently about the world around me and the people in it. I don't know if my personal shift is considered a victory for terrorists, but it is what it is and I cannot deny that I am changed as a result of that day.
I also saw Americans for who they are. After that event, more people gave more money and more blood and more time to help others than I have ever seen in my life. To me, this is the soul of how Americans truly are. All that other shit we say about people being fat, stupid, or lazy may also be true. But hey, we all have our weak points. When the shit hits the fan, the true character of people shows. Bitching about people wanting to return to their normal lives five years later doesn't change the fact that folks act in extraordinary ways when the circumstances call for it.