9/11 as the Deadliest Terrorist Attack in America
9/11 was the deadliest terrorist attack in America. There were about 3000 casualties, roughly sixty of them being police officers and three-hundred and forty-three of them being firefighters. There were few survivors that escaped from the towers and the impact of the heavy smoke killed a lot of them. Many victims were unidentifiable and not found because of the massive fires. Also all 19 of the hijackers were killed during the crash.
Since 9/11 airport security has changed a tremendous amount. Before 9/11 baseball bats, pocket knives, boxcutters, darts, knitting needles, and scissors were all allowed on planes. The FAA, the Federal Aviation Administration, didn’t find any of these items a problem before the 9/11 attacks.
Before 9/11 passengers were also allowed to bring full size bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and things like that. They were also allowed to freely walk around the airport. Now, airports have a lot more security and there are different gates that you can walk to if you aren’t a passenger. Once you reach a certain gate you can’t go back any further.
b. Since 9/11: Ever Since 9/11 airports have been screening for hijackers 24/7. They have created a profiling system that conjuncts with the metal detectors you must cross in order to get through the gates. Also, while going through the metal detectors, it is someone’s job to sit there and watch people expressions and movements.
If someone is looking down, exaggerated yawning, has a pale face from a recently shaved beard, or is trying to avoid eye contact then they will get pulled off to the side and questioned. Airports do not allow suspicious activity at them anymore. They are trying their best to make sure everything is prevented so there isn’t another terrorist attack involving an airport or a plane.
Another main issue that America has been fighting since 9/11 is a racial issue. Ever since 9/11, there has been a major turn towards Saadian Arabian people. People were very skeptical directly after 9/11 of Saadian Arabians because all of the hijackers and the Al-Qaeda group derives from Saudi Arabia.Americans have been fighting the urge since then of thinking that all Saadian Arabians are dangerous people and have it out for Americans. Americans have slowly gotten more trust for Saadian Arabians, but it is still an issue to this day.
Overall, 9/11 can be seen as a tragic event in America. There have been some good parts to it but overall it was tragic. People all over the country lived in fear for a while after 9/11. They were scared another terrorist attack was going to occur. Finding Bin Laden and killing him was one of the positive things since that day.
This country still deals with these issues today, but we think that overall this was the most important event that took place during the 1990s- present day. The catastrophic events of 9/11 as well as the death of Osama Bin Laden were one of the rare moments where every American was on one side and was coming together.
We believe two major topics have defined America since 1990. These two topics have been the basis of things such as a culture blend or an update on security. Although the 1990’s are considered America’s lost decade we believe it was the basis for where we are at in the world to this day. The 1990’s helped us stand a ground and be different than other nations. Everything can define a decade whether it be a story, moment, event and even everyday things.
America will continue to be defined in the decades in the future but so far America can be defined by many different events. We chose two topics that can continue to define America but have also had a huge impact on defining America already. We are interested in seeing how the two major topics we have chosen will define America in the future.
