From National Trauma to Moralizing Nation

Abstract

The tragic events of 9/11 were experienced as an overwhelming individual trauma for those closest to the attacks and as a disorienting collective trauma for the nation as a whole. One immediate and protracted response has been an increase in moralizing in the United States. To provide a context for the increased moralizing post-9/11, we present a model of moral motives based on differences in regulatory focus, and four distinct moral orientations are distinguished: Self-Restraint, Self-Reliance, Social Order, and Social Justice. We propose that the type of moralizing that increased post-9/11 reflects a particular moral motive�Social Order�that is activated by protection and security needs and emphasizes social control and restrictions. Consistent with recent work on moral motives, this reaction can be understood as a motivated response to Americans' newfound sense of threat and insecurity in the aftermath of 9/11.