All my life I’ve been told that I live in a post 9/11 world. I was constantly reminded of this fact on the anniversary date of the attack each year at school when all of my teachers would recount their experiences on that fateful day in 2001. I vividly remember my 8th grade English teacher telling me that she was watching an action movie on television when the breaking news came on. I remember my mom telling me she was home with my then seven-month old brother listening to the radio. Each year I would see the flag at half mast, listen to podcasts of survivors recounting their experiences, or watch documentaries recounting the events of the day. As a child born in 2003, my experience with 9/11 is made up of the stories that I’ve been told. My parents did their best to educate me and my brother on this horrific event by taking us to the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York City and discussing the event, the memorial, and the aftermath. As a result, throughout my life I’ve been very aware of 9/11. But this year was different.
I went to school this year on 9/11 expecting to hear a new round of stories – about where my teachers were when they heard about the attack on the twin towers, about the lives of survivors, and about the lives of those lost. I got to first period English where our principal held the call to colors, asking us to rise. The moment was somber but without any remembrance. The call to colors was repeated second period, to ensure all could participate. During that same period, AP US History, my teacher told us that on the upcoming Friday, we would study 9/11 in depth. That was at 9:30 am. I heard nothing regarding 9/11 for the rest of the day.
I got home and as I was recounting my day’s experiences to my mom, I began to feel a little shocked. This event, one of the most significant in our history as a country, became more of a footnote to the day, with little said or done to mark it. And that itself was worth marking. As I reflected on my day, the normalcy of it, I realized that since I’ve gotten to high school, few of my teachers have ever talked about 9/11. The whole awareness around 9/11 seems to be receding. Does this mean we’ve gotten used to this level of terror just like we’ve gotten used to school shootings?
Although unlike in my classrooms, news outlets highlighted the events of 9/11, the news cycle is very short, and by the very next week all of those stories were overshadowed by the global climate strike. As a high school activist, I am deeply passionate about climate change, but I am concerned that my generation doesn’t recognize the significance of these terrorist attacks – they barely penetrate our consciousness, let alone the daily flow of our social media. Climate change is the battle of my generation. But isn’t our battle against terrorism also important?
We remain at present, a country at war. We have been at war with Afghanistan for my whole life. We don’t realize it because it doesn’t affect our everyday lives like for those alive during World War II. But the war in Afghanistan directly relates to the September 11th attacks. Just two weeks ago another American died in Afghanistan, and the only reason I know about that is because my history teacher told me.
Eighteen years after these terrorist attack, it feels to me like Americans have moved on. If you didn’t directly lose a friend or family member, it’s as if the concern doesn’t apply to you. But terrorism is still a very real threat. Especially with our current administration, terrorist attacks could happen at any time in any place. But just like Americans have normalized the shooting of school children, Walmart shoppers, and church goers, we’ve normalized terrorist attacks.
All my life I’ve been told I live in a post 9/11 world. We need to continue teaching the significance of this phrase every year. There’s a reason security lines in our airports are so long. There’s a reason we’re at war with Afghanistan. There’s a reason our current administration can play upon the xenophobia in this country. And that reason is 9/11. Just because the kids in my generation and younger didn’t live through this event doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be cognisant of how it shaped the 21st century.