On September 1, 2001, the country of the United States of America along with the world changed. An orchestrated attack on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and another target- unknown but possibly the White House -put in place by a group of terrorist, made headlines all over the world. These attacks cost the lives of many people in Washington D.C, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and New York City.
George Bernard Shaw once said, “Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” Everyone is the way he or she is for a number of reasons. Sometimes things that happen in someone’s personal life majorly influences them; other times world events have a lasting impact on a person. Many things may influence a life, but in my case, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, an ongoing recession, and the legality of same-sex marriage have taken a great impact on me, my life, and my views.
The events that occurred during 9/11 have shaped American society in monumental ways. When the planes crashed into the world trade center, the pentagon, and the remote field, it finally forced America to open their eyes. They were forced to realize the importance of the inhabitants and the Dharma (role) that we all play in this world. As said in an article, history is never concrete. From what we can tell, history always reflects the current events. After 9/11, historians started to think about changing the study of foreign policy; including things that they once thought as insignificant came into the light and began to be re-analyzed.
Did you know that the 9/11 attack was not the first terrorist attack on the World Trade Center? On the 11th of September in the year 2001, Islamic terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes and crashed two of them in the World Trade Center in New York City. One of the other planes was crashed into the Pentagon in Virginia while the last plane was driven to the ground in a field in Pennsylvania. 9/11 changed American society by improving security but also by increasing ongoing wars. Immigration and deportation were also increased because of 9/11. Since 9/11, drastic changes have been made to improve security and surveillance. Ongoing wars are now more frequent as well as immigration along with deportation. Discrimination has also increased
9/11: The Day That Changed America Forever On September 11, 2001, nineteen terrorists boarded four planes, all transcontinental flights full of jet fuel. 9/11 became the first of many hijackings in the United States. The terrorists turned two flights into flying weapons of destruction, knocking down America’s tallest buildings. The third plane rammed into the Pentagon and the fourth plane was crashed into a field in Pennsylvania.
The NSA or the National Security Agency carries out most of the domestic surveillance in the United States. Before the 9/11 attacks the NSA needed approval from a court, but after the attacks, they were given free reign to copy any data that possibly linked to terrorist activities. This led to many arguments over whether this collection of data was unconstitutional or not. The extent of this surveillance shocked many people; many civil rights advocates thought that this surveillance breached United States citizens’ rights. Because of the threat of domestic surveillance in the United States it should be decreased drastically but not entirely stopped.
Although the September 11th attacks did cause chaos and division directly after they occurred, the attacks led to a more militarily and culturally unified United States today. After the attacks, the nation was scared and confused as to how they occurred; the terrorists could have been anywhere and there was no set plan or idea of how to figure out who they were. Today, the culprits, Al Qaeda and ISIS, are well-known and our military is quickly figuring out how to deal with these terrorist organizations. Culturally, immigration and tourism to America was affected, as well as air travel, government, and even how American citizens saw their government and the world.
Muslim Americans endured more government scrutiny after September 11, 2001. The United States government decided to monitor this population. This involves surveillance on phones, worship place and funds. The US government needed to pass a law to collect data to use concerning risks. Consequently, the Several days later after the 9/11 attack, the U.S. passed the USA PATRIOT Act which is an acronym for “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism” (Stan, 2014). The Department of Justice drafted the USA PATRIOT Act to increase the federal agencies’ power to use surveillance cameras, conduct search and detect communication both nationwide and from foreign countries to seek out terroristic attacks. In addition, the president that signed this into law was President George W. Bush. In addition, most people would not want the government to secretly spy on them.
The morning of Tuesday September 11, 2011 is one of the biggest tradgies of all time. On this specific day four airlines were hijacked by an Islamic group that goes by the name al-Qaeda. The attacks took the lives of 2,996 innocent people, injured nearly 6,000 people, and caused at least $10 billion in infracture and property damage. These attacks, also known as the 9/11 attacks, will forever be remebered as one of the most horrific days for so many people around this world.
Before the terrible event of 9/11 many United States citizens could agree that they felt generally safe living in the U.S. People could live their lives and not worry about an attack against them or their love ones. Everyone was friendly and opened to each other because there was no fear. But, unfortunately the views of everyday living have changed as a result of the attacks on the United States. The continued threat of terrorism has affected the lives of Americans in negative ways. 9/11 has made a big impact and has effected U.S citizens for many reasons.
A day forever remembered in United States history is September 11, 2001. Not only did the event that occurred on this day effect the loved ones of many, it touched every U.S citizen. The event of 9/11 has gone down as one of the most tragic and influential events in all of history. There were many causes that led to this disaster and you mustn’t forget the effects it left on America.
Nearly the whole country watched in horror on the morning of September 11, 2001. As the planes crashed and the towers burned, many thought it simply wasn’t true. They believed that it was impossible that someone could hate America that much. It was true, and it left lasting effects on Americans everywhere. Al-Qaeda had carried out a plan so horrific that it killed nearly three thousand people.
It is almost sixteen years since that fear was imposed on us and the age of terror began in earnest. From the moment the Twin Towers fell, 9/11 was seen as a watershed, a historical turning point of grand and irreversible proportions. With the acrid smoke still swirling above ground zero, the mantras repeated constantly were that 9/11 had ?changed everything that nothing would ever be the same.? By now we see those mantras for what they were: natural, perhaps inevitable, exaggerations in the face of
One of the agencies that were granted higher power in the name of security was the Transportation Security Agency (TSA). They implemented securities check points within all US ports. Previously families could either bid farewell or greet their love ones at the gate of their flight. Now this TSA security check points prohibit non-flying costumers to be anywhere in the airport that may possibly have access to an aircraft. The TSA also restricted the type and quantities of items the individuals could take in their carryon luggage into the airplane cabins.
September 11 is a day that has gone down in history as one of the most significant acts of terrorism that took place on American soil. Even though the United states has fought wars against terror before, none of them had taken place in their own country. Two planes crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York causing the towers to collapse, killing thousands in the process. It had a significant impact on the way the generation Y thought and the aftereffects of the event shaped the ideology of that generation. It exposed the vulnerability of the nation to everybody. In my opinion, generation Y has been more significantly impacted by 9/11 than generation Z for the sole reason that they lived through the event and its aftereffects. Right after 9/11 there was a sense of patriotism that flooded the nation and led to increased civic engagement and volunteerism. The nation was also scared by the threat of terrorists; to counter this, new anti terrorist laws were introduced that started to chip away the civil liberty of citizens.