Jackson Bertain
Professor Copeland
ENGL 20803
February 2, 2021
The Aftermath
To truly understand how impactful an event was, one cannot simply look at something that
has just occurred and realize all the implications that will follow, it’s been 19 years and 4 months
since the greatest attack against the United States occurred and the impacts that have come to be
as a result have been felt around the world. When people imagine what happened on September
9, 2001, they often forget the whole picture: yes, it was a devastating loss for those in the Twin
Towers in Downtown New York, but the terrorists also attacked the center of our great nation’s
defense, the Pentagon. There’s great symbolism in the targets these terrorists chose, which lead
to changes in our national security regulations, however, its effects were also felt in the market
and the public perception of members from Islamic heritage.
To send a message to a country that you are serious about what you are trying to accomplish,
there are two key ways to send a message: attack that nation’s financial system, the other: attack
their defense system. These terrorists did both. The attack on the Pentagon was a signal to the
leaders of the Free World: “We’re coming for you and we’re coming hard.” Attacking the
Pentagon left many Americans’ feeling, not only unsafe, but also as if they couldn’t trust
“strangers on the street” (Weebly). Although in the direct aftermath, the American People
bonded together to show a united front, as we look at our demographic today, we couldn’t be
more divided due to lack of trust between people that started to grow and fester on that forsaken
day.
Since the attack, our policies have changed greatly, as our terrorist enemies, as our
vulnerabilities to climate change, cyber-attacks, public health, and various threats have changed,
Americans have realized one thing: “9/11 showed us that National Security wasn’t just
something for “over there,” outside the U.S. (Gibson). Arguably, the most significant impact on
day-to-day American life has been seen across our methods of travel (Gibson). When people go
on planes, trains, even highways, there are security measures instated to ensure that passengers
are not carrying anything that could potentially cause serious negative consequences. Similarly,
when attending events, such as sports, concerts, etc., security measure standards have greatly
increased since 2001 due to this lack of trust, previously mentioned, between Americans.
