9/11 reaction

It's interesting to me how disasters (of any kind) spark not only fear, but also a strong feeling of national pride, facing whatever may come as a challenge despite of the widespread terror. It's like Foster Wallace says, what is the purpose of all these flags? Unity, of course, knowing that you are not alone in your grief and fear, that an entire country weeps at the feet of the fallen towers. The flag becomes an image of hope and strength, that WE can hold our heads high again and face whatever may come with dignity.
As pretty and noble as this picture may seem, it rises a rather unsettling question: who, exactly, is considered within "WE"?  Who can join us in our mourning and who can we trust? Who is the enemy? Eventually, from the mixture of fear and a heightened sense of pride and unity comes the opposite: segregation and paranoia. Anyone that looks even slightly middle-eastern must hate the United States, if you do not look like us you are not with us. How does anyone dare wear a hijab in the land of the free? The vast majority chooses to hide behind what is familiar, forgetting that extremist views do not represent entire religions or countries. Like Suheir Hammad says, not all white caucasian americans are held accountable for the KKK, why then should all muslims be held accountable for acts of terrorism? The foreign policy adopted by the Bush administration seems just as frightening to me as the prospect of having two airplanes crash into a building, especially considering that some people think women in veils are a threat.
The assault to the twin towers shocked the entire world and changed the lives of many people, if the US felt invincible after the fall of the Soviet Union this feeling did not last. After 9/11 people came to know fear once again, a fear that can still be felt 14 years later and it's not only the average american. The worldwide muslim community also lives in fear, knowing that the name of their religion has been tarred by violent, extremist groups even though (as Don DeLillo clearly exemplifies) they were just as horrified by the image of the collapsing twin towers.