The Lasting Effects of Sept. 11

 

Sept. 11, 2001 is a day that will forever leave a scar on the hearts of Americans. It was a day that completely altered the course of history. No words can be strung together to perfectly express the countless emotions the citizens of America were feeling on that day—confused, scared, helpless—and the heartache that stuck with them from there-on-after.

United States President at the time, George W. Bush, tried to sum up the feelings shared by all Americans. “Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror. The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger,” he said in his Address to the Nation.

That morning began like any other. Children went to school, parents went to work, people filled the city doing their day-to-day activities. Then, suddenly, out of the stillness, Flight 11 hit the north face of the North Tower of the World Trade Center with a crash that shook the city. The first crash alone was detrimental, killing every passenger on board along with hundreds of people inside the building.

At first, people assumed that the crash was just a freak accident. However, when the second plane struck, it became clear that it was an attack.

Flight 175 crashed into the south face of the South Tower less than 20 minutes after the first attack, killing everyone on board and hundreds more inside the building.

The crashes created explosions in each of the towers, and flames erupted. Many people jumped to their death instead of facing the fire that was to come.

Soon, both towers fell to the ground one by one with huge impacts that sent clouds of smoke and debris flying. People on the streets ran to escape the wreckage.

Two other planes were part of this planned terrorist attack, Flight 77 and Flight 93. The hijackers successfully took over Flight 77 and crashed into the Pentagon in Washington D.C. However, after hearing news of the other attacks, the passengers on Flight 93 decided to fight back. Because of the efforts of the brave passengers, Flight 93 never reached its target. It instead crashed into a field in Pennsylvania, killing all 40 passengers and crew aboard.

The attacks were devastating, but Americans everywhere sprung into action. The country gathered its strength and decided to work together and fight back. “The attacks of September 11 were intended to break our spirit. Instead, we have emerged stronger and more unified,” Mayor of New York City at the time of the attacks, Rudy Giuliani, said.

In fact, in a moment of terror and crisis, the citizens of the United States became closer than ever. “On that terrible day, a nation became a neighborhood, all Americans became New Yorkers,” Governor of New York at the time, George Pataki, said.

The shaken nation was brought together with a large sense of sadness, but an even bigger sense of patriotism. Each person was determined to strike back against the terrorists who attacked their nation.

Just days after the attack, President George W. Bush visited the site, standing on the rubble of the fallen towers, surrounded by rescue workers, firefighters, and police officers. “I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you, and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon,” he promised, yelling into a bullhorn for the crowd to hear.

His speech sparked patriotic and vengeful feelings throughout the nation. Every citizen was determined to find and put an end to al Qaeda.

The Sept. 11 attacks sparked many changes around the nation. Security increased and people remained fearful of the possibility of more attacks. However, the biggest effect Sept. 11 had on the United States was the unity it brought. In a time of chaos and fear, the nation came together and showed strength, courage, and unparalleled patriotism.