i should have wrote my thoughts and posted them sooner on this blog about 9/11 however for my plsc 222 class i was told to write a paper on my thoughts of the consequences and causes of this disaster. the following is the paper i just finished writing. i would like to know the thoughts of this and your own thoughts on this subject
When September 11, 2001 is brought up to most people they can recall the whereabouts of themselves pretty easily. That day will go down in history as being one of the most memorable days in my generation. Although I think highly of America and the rights we have, I feel that this tragedy was dealt with the wrong way. In the following paragraphs I will explain the reasons why America was attacked and the consequences it has brought us since the attacks.
The attacks happened for a few reasons that I will explain in this portion. First they happened due to a breakdown off communication. To me before the attacks the United States were too cocky to take threats seriously. There were plenty of threats and intelligence known of that there was going to be an attack on America. The plot started in the many years leading up to the attacks, with the training of Al Qaeda in the Middle East. Days before the attacks the president was briefed with the possibility of an attack coming in the form of Airplanes. He simply set this aside and went about his day. The second reason was the lack of security in the airports. In earlier years a man put a bomb underneath his seat to detonate it at a later time. He was successful and the man who put the bomb on the plane later trained some of the hijackers. If the security people would have done their jobs it would have been avoided because only a few hijackers had legitimate visas. Third, is the hatred for the U.S. it is hard to avoid this with how the media portrays the U.S. being the powerhouse. If it is thought through correctly, America really is not that big of a powerhouse. We just act like we could hurt you even though at first maybe we will win and everyone will be behind the war but eventually that dies out when neighbors and friends are killed for a “War of Terror” those three things were the main causes of the Sept. 11, 2001 tragedies. This attack could have been avoided if instead of shooting orders off to kill this and to not only look at personal gain. The war that followed may have started off as a meaningful war with many people behind it and feeling patriotic but quickly it shifted from Osama to Saddam. Granted the only meaningful thing that has come out of this war has been the capture of Saddam. That I will give Bush credit for but for anything else he has been horrible.
Next I want to explain my thoughts on the consequences since the attacks. The most obvious reason is the horrendous loss of life. Not only from the trade center itself but from the war that soon followed. Also, in my opinion our rights have been infringed upon. Now I do not notice it that much because I am a harmless person, but phone tapping and the FBI looking through everything because of a sense of terror now that to me is not right. The Patriot Act allows the government so much more control and our freedoms have not come back since. The fake patriotism is also a consequence because yes the world needed to be united after the attacks, but what always has bothered me was the fact that it took so many people dieing to bring a country together. I don’t feel that death should unite a country and create hysteria that follows it. Of course the pointless war that followed. Earlier I said that the war started out as a war that was justifiable. I feel like the reason why it was started so quickly was because the president felt why not do it when approval is extremely high. Since then thousands have died and it has switched from the war of terror to the war of oil. They found Saddam which was nice, but still have not found the man who ordered the attacks on 9/11. Sure they have killed out so called “leaders” of Al Qaeda or held them hostage in Guantanamo but this war could go on forever. A war on terror can’t and won’t ever be ended because you can’t stop the thoughts of terror. I say cut our losses and move on, because we really aren’t getting any closer to killing off terrorism. The best offense for this type of thing is to stay alert and not repeat mistakes like not listening to intelligence. Another consequence that I feel everyday is that of higher gas prices. When this happened, I was not yet old enough to drive but when I started gas prices were about $1.30. Now it is typically $4.00 a gallon. I feel as if this war has brought on this because the rest of the world is not happy with our war anymore. To me this war was like a new toy, it is a lot of fun for a little but it gets old quick, and when it gets old just get rid of it and move on. To me the U.S. is so stubborn that they have to prove something. The UK has started to pull out troops why can’t we follow their lead and stop the war. The economy has since gone sour as well. Just recently housing firms are going under and although this may not be a direct consequence it still is a high one.
Another consequence has to be that of a hysteria or stereotype towards the race of the hijackers. Long before the days after 9/11 Arabic people just blended in with the rest of the people. Now instinctively anytime one is at an airport and sees an Arabic person certain thoughts cross their mind. It is to me the equivalent to the Communist scare from the 1950’s. it is almost like a witch hunt of sorts. This could all have been avoided if we would have not been so dumb about it.
September 11, 2001 will always be a day that I remember thoroughly. The days and years after this event have made me want to become a political scientist to study the ramifications of this day and the days before it. One word comes to mind when I think of this day: avoidance. This day could have been avoided and it was not. People could have been smarter about it and they weren’t. Now, thousands are dead people are without fathers, sisters, brothers, mothers, friends and for what reason, other than people hating America. I love America yet I find myself seeing the views of the outsiders and thinking although horrible and completely unjustified I could see why they hate America so much. Terrorism will never stop, no matter how many people are killed or “leaders” are detained it won’t end. Why not stop trying to prove that the U.S. is this big powerhouse and just admitting we were wrong, admit that and the world would definitely be a better place to live in.
although this may be hard for one to watch, this image is still in my head to this day here is the footage from the attacks according to youtube:
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