Both sides are guilty of various sins. Conservatives used 9/11 to intentionally create a culture of fear, Obedience, and acceptance of State intrusion, and any questioning was immediately stifled as unpatriotic. For a great example, read the article "Unpatriotic Conservatives" by Bush's main speechwriter where he accuses all his critics of being anti-semites.  I personally remember being repeatedly reprimanded for not saluting the flag because of the Iraq war. I'm not sure I'd do the same today - America means more than this, after all - but they were trying their damnedest to make support for their war, and the U.S, synonymous in everyone's mind, and at the time, it worked for me.