9/11 Still Matters

It has been 20 years since that infamous September day where terrorists from the group al-Qaeda, orchestrated by Osama Bin Laden, hijacked airplanes and struck the Twin Towers and Pentagon, killing nearly 3000 people. In just one day the world changed forever. Even though I wasn’t born yet, 9/11 matters to me because it and what happened after, still impacts me and will continue to impact me in the future.

As a result of 9/11, the United States declared a “War on Terror” which, in the years since, has resulted in trillions of dollars being wasted in useless drawn-out wars which have cost thousands of American lives, and arguably for more terrorists and terror groups to prop up. All that time, money, and effort could have been used here at home to make America an even better place and be used to help the younger generations, including students like myself.

To think that instead of helping young Americans, young Americans were sent across the globe to die in vain for a war that really had no end is very saddening and frustrating. 

Just recently the Afghanistan War, America’s longest war which was caused by 9/11, came to a disastrous end where almost all the progress of 20 years was undone in what seemed to be in a blink of an eye. It saddens me to think that after all this we have just wasted time, money, lives, and resources and for what?

For me, 9/11 has had a huge domino effect that has impacted my life and the lives of all Americans. Without 9/11 many policies wouldn’t have been passed, many politicians wouldn’t have been elected, and overall America would have been a different place. This domino effect caused by 9/11 would affect generations to come, that’s why this event is still so relevant today.

So even though 9/11 didn’t directly impact me, the events as a result of the attacks did. And that is why it matters.