Reflection on How 9/11 Changed Us (Essay Example)

In schools all across the United States, there are many historical dates that are taught/ brought as a reminder to children as well as teenagers. But there’s one in particular that strikes a major chord for a lot of people. That day would be September 11th, 2001. Also known as 9/11, it was the day that the United States was forever changed. 

Let’s take a second to rewind a bit to 2001. Freshly surviving from Y2K, this was a new era for us. George W. Bush was sworn into oath, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was released (the very first Harry Potter movie), and fashion was taking a turn for something new. When it came to war, we had not encountered anything since the Cold War (1945-1991), and we were okay with that. That unfortunately changed due to 9/11, where there was a terrorist attack that was a shock to everyone. There were 4 coordinated terrorist attacks that were caused by the Islamic group al-Qaeda. 

Al- Qaeda consisted of many people, but 19 people within this group planned and staged the 9/11 attacks against the United States. The one person most known from al-Qaeda was Osama Bin Laden, who was one of the founders. He started Al-Qaeda in the late 1980s to combat against the Soviet Union during the Afghan War, and continued to challenge those who threatened them. 

During this time, I was almost a year old, and was living in Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee. My parents were both really young, (my mother was only 20 years old and my father was a few years older than her.) Whenever 9/11 happened, it didn’t directly impact us, but it still was devastating to watch/ hear about. News channels were broadcasting the horrific event and keeping everyone updated frequently. I remember by the time I got into middle school, being reminded of 9/11 was always very sad, where we would watch videos, hear the stories of those who survived, as well as last minute phone calls from people who had passed away (during history class.)

When the Twin Towers fell, and everything was over with, then came the major search. There were 2,977 people that needed to be accounted for (2,763 from the World Trade Center and around that area, 189 from the Pentagon, and 44 from Pennsylvania.) It took approximately 1 ½ days for emergency response units to search through the rubble to find survivors. After the extensive search, there ended up being 2,996 deaths due to 9/11.

After 9/11, My father decided to join the United States Army and enlist as active duty in 2002. By March 30th, 2003, George W. Bush decided to invade Iraq. This was due to the high risk of terrorists having access to weapons of mass destruction. The real issue ended up being in Afghanistan, but at the time, we were unaware and were reacting in response to the tragedy we experienced as a country. 

When my dad left for Iraq, it was definitely hard on my mom and I. He was gone for a total of 6 years, and was deployed several times. During this time, the Bush administration was working really hard to find enough material to contribute to the case of war. The administration believed that there was a potential relationship between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda, and so they heavily relied on national intelligence to help uncover more information. 

Another thing to mention is that during this time, in 2002, the Department of Homeland Security was created and was the largest reorganization of the United States government since the creation of the Defense Department. The purpose of the DHS was to help with the terrorist threats. With all these new programs and policies coming into place, it helps the United States ensure that protective policies are in place to protect the people.

While my dad was out in Iraq, he was assigned as a Humvee mechanic and spent his time working on those as well as various other tasks. He used to talk to me all the time as a kid about some of the things he did, and it always was so nice for him to come home. I remember getting a kids sized PT uniform that I could wear as well as several other unique things such as his dog tags and his old military ID. I also have several photos of my dad and I from when he was in the military.

To continue, the Bush administration announced a War on Terror, with the stated goals of bringing Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda to justice and preventing the emergence of other terrorist networks. On October 7, 2001, the War in Afghanistan began when U.S. and British forces initiated aerial bombing campaigns targeting Taliban and al-Qaeda camps, then later invaded Afghanistan with ground troops of the Special Forces. This was only the beginning to a long war, which ended up lasting up until 2021, where we withdrew from Afghanistan. (We withdrew from Iraq in 2011.)

Moving forward, the United States has handled/ changed a lot since 9/11. We have changed the way we run security in our airports, and the way we became united was far more significant than any other time.According to (Hartig & Doherty, 2022),  a few months after the start of the war, 83% of Americans said they approved of the U.S.-led military campaign against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. In 2006, several years after the United States began combat operations in Afghanistan, 69% of adults said the U.S. made the right decision in using military force in Afghanistan. 

Overall, we as a country have endured many challenges and losses, but 9/11 by far was the most traumatic on our country. We did a lot of different efforts to push forward and handle the issue on terrorism, and to protect the U.S. 9/11 impacted us severely, and for those who were lost, will never be forgotten. To this day, some people have made a lot of speculation as to what really happened with 9/11, such as if we were involved in it, as well as several other ludicrous theories. As for my family, there was a lot of impact on my father being away to Iraq for 6 years. There was a lot he unfortunately missed out on in my life due to this, and it was very hard on me because I was so young at the time, (first left when I was 2 years old, and continued to on and off until I was 7 years old.) This did have a heavy influence on me, and I later on felt motivated to be a part of Army JROTC in high school, and now I am minoring in Military Science.