As we roll up on the one-month anniversary of Sept. 11, one thing has become apparent to me:

Those people - me included - who said that the nation would be changed are all masters of understatement.

I think the nation has changed more than anyone imagined.

The more I think about it, the more I absorb my surroundings, the more I realize that we have just lived through a national paradigm shift.

A paradigm shift occurs when you think you have a clear understanding of something and then suddenly find out you are dead wrong.

It changes the way you view things.

And, my, how our view has changed.

The world was a far different place when we said "good night" on Sept. 11 than it was when we said "sweet dreams" on Sept. 10.

Many people think of their lives in terms of milestones. Like when you're a kid and you realize the truth about Santa Claus.

Like when you graduate from high school or from college.

Like when you marry and have a child.

Like when you reach middle age - that halfway point in life when you start thinking about your own mortality.

Each of us experiences these milestones in our own time - individually.

And these milestones change our perceptions, help us grow and mature and shape our lives.

These are all very personal, individual events. That's what is so compelling about Sept. 11.

It was a life-shaping milestone that each of us experienced simultaneously.

And its effect is everywhere.

It's in our homes, our front yards, our porches, our workplaces, streets, highways, restaurants, stores, schools, churches and taverns.

Americans woke up on Sept. 11 headed in 270 million different directions. Each of us had our own agenda. We were conservatives or liberals, black or white, young or old, rich or poor.

Our defining issues were whether Gary Condit had anything to do with that intern's disappearance, whether Michael Jordan would return to basketball or whether Anne Heche was a nutcase.

Does anybody really care about any of that stuff now? Remember the Social Security lock box? Might as well be a Social Security paper bag now. And nobody cares.

My big concern was the "new" car (a 1993) that we got for my son and how much insurance would be. Winterizing the boat and taking the pier and boatlift out of the lake also were pressing personal issues.

I was thinking about maybe finally breaking 80 on the golf course.

This was my agenda. These things seemed important.

Now I wonder if I should seal off a room in my house to keep my family safe from a chemical or biological attack.

By 11 a.m. on Sept. 11, for the first time in most every American's lifetime, everyone's agenda was interrupted.

We all focused - collectively, intently and immediately - on the horrific nightmare that was taking place right here on our soil.

Every eye and heart in America turned to New York, to Washington, to Pennsylvania.

And just like many of the individual milestones we've experienced, we stood there, stunned, unsure of exactly what it would mean. But we were sure of one thing.

We knew life would never be quite the same.

Now, I am getting the sense of the level of change and the direction it has taken.

Mainly, we are united.

Perhaps my perception is flawed. I have no facts and figures to back this up, but I just feel that we have become more civil.

I feel fewer instances of road rage. I think fewer people are committing crimes. Generally, people just seem a little nicer.

Store clerks seem more helpful. We don't seem to be so intent on making the 10:30 a.m. fast food breakfast deadline. We don't seem to care whether the sale price rings up.

We are focused - together - on the arduous task ahead and what seemed so important a month ago seems trivial today.

Part of the reason we are united is driven by technology. It was amazing to me to watch - over and over - those aircraft flying into those buildings. To watch the towers fall. To watch the Pentagon burn.

I have used my cell phone a hundred times to call my wife to tell her what I was up to.

I can't imaging dialing up my wife to tell her I am about to attempt to thwart a hijacking - and then say "I love you" and "Goodbye."

Imagine being the sightseers in New York who captured the tragedy on video.

Those same video cameras were used the weekend before to tape Little League games and birthday parties.

Then there's the news coverage - continuous and comprehensive - and the Internet, teeming with information about anything even remotely related to Sept. 11, not to mention all the chat rooms and e-mail messages bouncing around.

The technology tends to unite us all the more.

Red, white and blue are everywhere. Flags are everywhere. Tattoo parlors are "inking" American eagles and flags like never before.

Comedians are rewriting their material because some things just aren't funny anymore.

People who haven't been in a church for a while are attending services. Families are spending more "quality time."

United we stand. United we respond.

We have given a million pints of blood. We have donated a half billion dollars in cash. We have parted with thousands of tons of food and goods.

All for the relief effort.

This Tuesday, a month after Sept. 11, we will remain united. My hope is that this sense of unity, this camaraderie, this spiritual renewal will continue long after our "New War" has been won.

It's too bad it took a tragedy, but it looks as if Americans finally have something we can agree on. [[In-content Ad]]