Thirteen years ago today our nation united in grief and horror as we watched the twin towers fall.
I was only seven years old at the time, too young to fully comprehend the scope of the tragedy, though I do remember a certain level of bewilderment and fear as I watched my parents, former residents of Brooklyn, crying as the news came over the radio.
My classmates and I discussed the events in school, sharing our limited understandings, each of us trying to sound adult though we were far out of depth. We could not see that our lives, and indeed the lives of those across the globe, would be forever altered by the terrible events of that morning.
Terrified and heartsick we as a country turned to our government for peace of mind, but years later it seems the actions those in power took only ensured further conflict.
A month after the attacks, with the support of the United Kingdom, the United States put boots on the ground in Afghanistan, kicking off the war on terror with patriotic fervor.
This international action was followed soon after by domestic changes. In 2002 the controversial Patriot Act was signed into law, forever altering our concepts of privacy and freedom by giving the government power to deny certain rights to citizens in the interest of the greater good.
The war in the Middle East dragged on and expanded. Fears of weapons of mass destruction spurred the invasion of Iraq, but when no such weapons were produced public opinion began to shift. Hopes of a swift exit were fading and atrocities like those committed at Guantanamo Bay came to light, further souring the illusion of righteous intervention.
Even after the withdrawal of troops from Iraq in December of 2011, and the killing of Osama Bin Laden by U.S Marines a few month prior, there aren’t many who view the invasion as a success. Though combat operations in Afghanistan were announced to end earlier this year, active troops are still stationed on the ground and are expected to remain for a still indeterminate amount of time.
These conflicts have only grown uglier with each passing year. Attempts to establish stability have been continually met with failure and the threat of global terrorism shows no signs of dying out. If anything the recent actions of organizations such as ISIS seem to suggest a surge of terrorist activity in the future.
Looking back on 9/11 it’s painful to think that our country’s attempts to remedy one tragedy only begot further strife. Our attempts at building peace and safety have left our nation war-weary and even after thirteen years of conflict it seems we still have many more ahead of us.