The Complexities of 9/11
Written by Zhaohan Zhang
Note this Article does not Convey the opinion of other writers or editors this is purely something I am choosing to write and express as an individual. Any hate and disagreement should be brought upon just me.
When you think of the start of the war on terror, one of the worst moments in American history, 9/11, you usually think of nothing but negative ideas and thoughts; even that sentence highlighted 9/11 as nothing but bad; however, what we don't think about is the positive facts and influences that come as a result of horrifying events.
One of the most impactful changes was the increase of airport and general national security via the Aviation and Transportation Security Act. The Aviation and Transportation Security Act was put in place on November 19th, 2001, as a direct result of the 9/11 attacks.; it is simply putting a higher degree of security in airports so another situation like 9/11 can't happen. In the 2023 yearly review of the TSA, it was stated that 850 Million Passengers were screened in the United States with 484 million bags searched and prevented 6737 Firearms, 93% of which were loaded, from getting into the secure areas of the airport and on an aircraft. Neil DeGrasse Tyson said in an interview that before 9/11, "the quota for a plane kidnapping was to let the person take over the plane in fear of harming the passengers. Post 9/11, that would never happen again because of the fear of something worse occurring".
We never associate bad events with the rare but possible idea of a positive aftermath coming from them; for example, the Great Depression -another awful event in American history.- A period marked by economic collapse and widespread unemployment, but the results speak for themselves. Probably the most well-known, the Social Security Act helps people over 60, veterans, and disabled people all the time by providing federal aid to citizens with over 7.4 trillion dollars of trust fund money having been paid back. The great depression also severely increased the stock market for several new types of technology, such as the invention of the television and the mass production and marketing of useful items we use today, like refrigerators and washing machines, leading to another technological revolution.
The main issue is people tend only to see things at face value. I can keep bringing up more and more examples of this exact phenomenon, but to stay on track, I'll talk more about the results from the start of the war on terror. Another thing that came as a result of 9/11 was a large amount of unification within the United States. 62 Percent of citizens felt significantly more patriotic only a year after the event. Along with this, most political views were put to the side in support of America as a nation and of George W Bush, who was the president at the time; this was one of the very few times in the entirety of American history that people had rallied together like this. We can see examples of this with the highest volunteer rate in history, reading 28.8 Percent. Citizens not only in New York but the nation would rally together and help around and pray for the safety of our country.
Not only was our nation's citizens rising in support, but so were the citizens and governments of other countries and nations. After the event, America received hundreds of thousands of letters from the representatives of nearly 100 countries supporting the US in such a terrible situation. In part, with unification within the nation and the assistance and worries of outside nations, the unification of the newly started war on terror also arises. A multitude of nations come together to help prevent terrorism so a situation such as 9/11 does not occur again not in America and certainly not in any other nation. This includes NATO, ANZUS, OAS and more, who all not only assisted with the protection of American lands but also joined the worldwide coalition against Daesh and prevent terrorism, which currently has 87 partners. We take the time and put funds into ensuring the security of not only America but also our allied nations are safe from harm.
To this day, we continue to think about 9/11 as a significant historical event, something brought up no matter what; we celebrate and honor this event throughout America every year. So yes, although objectively speaking, 9/11 at its core was an awful event leading to death and harm, there's no argument there; however, by understanding the results and the occurrence of 9/11 as a part of history, we can bring out the positive of such an awful situation and create a sense of good and change. As a result, that's why I can say without a doubt in my mind that 9/11 caused some amount of good.