20 years since 9/11

[batson]

So here we are. It's been a full 20 years since the 9/11 attacks in the United States. How time flies.

And how fascinating it is to think just how much the event impacted the course of world history. The attacks directly led to America's War on Terror, which in turn led to the destabilisation of Iraq, which was instrumental to the chaos that allowed ISIS to begin it's conquest of large parts of the Middle East. I live in Sweden, and even my own country has been deeply affacted by the event's set into motion by the 9/11 attacks, as the murderus rampage of ISIS was a huge factor contributing to the european migrant crisis, the effects of which has profoundly changed swedish society.

Truly, the 21st century began precisely on september 11 2001. If the 1990's was, at least here in the west, a time of relative optimism after the end of the cold war, then the 21st century so far has been percieved by most us living in it as a time of fear, polarization and uncertainty.

I was 14 when the attacks took place, and I think one reason as to why that event in particular continues to fascinate me personally is because it was probably one of the first true historicaly significant events where I was old enough to actually comprehed the gravity of the situation. Or at least, I comprehended the significance as soon as I noticed how all the adults around me reacted. I had actually never even heard of the World Trade Center before the attack, and when I first heard about the tragedy as I came home from school that day and my mom directed me to the TV where news about it were being broadcast, I thought that it was tragic news, but not much more. But then I noticed throughout the rest of the day that ALL of the adults around me were completely glued to their TV sets and radios (remember, this was a time before the internet took over our lives), even my teachers during class at the art school I went to in the afternoon. I heard mumbles from them about "world war lII" and similarly ominous statements. That's when I knew that we, all of us, were at a turning point.

Now I'm really curious to know, what are your memories of the event? Or, if you're too young to have been there at the time, how and when did you learn about it after the fact?

[charmsb]

I hope not to destroy anyone's sense of youthfulness, but I was not alive in 2001. But it's not exactly something you "get out of" if you didn't witness it in real life. I struggle to think of a world where it didn't take place, as much as I yearn for it. I live in America so education surrounding it is unavoidable. I didn't really start to understand the gravity, though, until I got into later years of schooling, and they started to show us the more grizzly side of things like people jumping out of the building or the dust clouds that flooded the city.

When you really watch the event take place, it doesn't feel real at all, it feels like something that should have happened in a movie, not in real life. And for a small amount of time, all those political thoughts and attitudes that you think you understand so well kinda just fall apart, and you're just left staring in shock without considering who did what or what to do next. I don't think it should be something that should ever be forgotten, and not necessarily because of any sense of patriotism I have, but more so because it's a direct human-to-human large scale tragedy that should be a warning sign for what could happen (or what IS happening) to our species if we keep acting the way that we do. It's the same chilling sensation you get when watching the bombs drop in Japan and hearing J. Robert Oppenheimer's speech on the atomic bombs.

I see a growing sensation of "It happened, it was sad, let's just get over it" happening with 9/11, and I can understand the message there. There is sometimes an excessive patriotism surrounding the event (naturally), but I think the people complaining should realize just how insane 9/11 actually was. It was an attack on one of America's biggest cities, targeting civilians specifically, and caused destruction that you didn't think would ever enter the real world. You don't need to compare death counts with other tragic events like Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was still a horrible and ghoulish event that completely altered the course of human history forever. So yeah, never forget, lest we let our guards down and make the same mistakes.