The 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks has spurred many reflections and questions.

Did the attacks change America forever? If so, have those changes been for the better or for the worse? Has the nation stood up to the threats to our safety or have we lost our swagger?

In the days immediately following the attacks, Americans experienced a grim unification. We came together to focus on the victims in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. We were resolved not to be beaten by the acts of irrational foreign terrorists. Even in the face of such an overwhelming tragedy, we wanted to be strong. We were Americans first.

In the decade since, that sense of unity certainly has faltered. The nation has rarely felt so philosophically divided. Those divisions have had a paralyzing effect on American government. To a large degree, Americans have lost faith in the government’s ability to deal with major domestic problems. Questions about the invasion of Iraq and U.S. involvement in Afghanistan have made Americans lose confidence in the nation’s ability to handle its foreign affairs.

During a decade when Americans had hoped they could fight back and feel strong, they too often have felt weak and helpless. Not only are we struggling with huge economic problems, we feel unable to influence the direction of our nation and unwilling to support many of its actions at home or abroad.

Some commentators even have theorized that the nation’s extreme focus on the 9/11 anniversary illustrates Americans’ continuing despair and sense of weakness, perhaps even our belief that the nation’s best days are behind it.

The 10 years since the 9/11 attacks have not been banner years for America. And yet, we are still Americans. We are a nation of individual voters who still can have an impact on our government and individual citizens and volunteers who still can have an impact on the communities around them.

A number of local events are planned today to commemorate the 9/11 attack. Perhaps the most hopeful of those is the Roger Hill Volunteer Center’s “Challenge 3,000.” Over the next six weeks, the center is asking local volunteers to pledge 3,000 volunteer hours to honor the nearly 3,000 victims of the 9/11 attack. For anyone feeling discouraged about America or its political climate, it’s a great antidote. You may feel powerless to change the nation, but you still can make a difference in your community.

The people who died in the 9/11 attacks were individuals, just like you. There’s no better way to honor their memory than to make an individual commitment to make the nation and the world a little better place.