As the sun sets over the Atlantic and the shadows grow long across the Heartland, the nation finds itself in a collective breath-hold. People are checking their emergency kits, looking toward the sky, and refreshing their news feeds with a frequency that borders on the obsessive. The silence of the suburbs and the neon hum of the cities both feel pregnant with a potential violence that hasn’t been felt on this scale in decades. Whether tonight brings the flash of a missile or the quiet relief of a hollow threat, the American consciousness has been permanently altered. The realization that we are no longer “beyond the reach” of the world’s grievances is a bitter pill that will take generations to swallow.
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