Each year I find myself wanting to write a post about 9/11. This year is no different as I’ve noticed something is off with many of us who were alive at the time.
One of the biggest questions that has sat with me for the past 23 years is “did we let the terrorists win?” If you had asked me in the first few days after 9/11 I would have said a resounding “no!” Today, I’m not so sure.
Before I talk about why I’m not sure, I have to get to the thing that’s off with many of us. Especially those of us who live in big cities like New York or Chicago.
While on assignment for the Daily Southtown newspaper, covering an 9/11 remembrance ceremony, I couldn’t help but notice the planes arriving and departing from Midway Airport. Flying behind these two-metal beams that were part of the original World Trade Center. The twin beams stand like the twin towers and the planes flying behind added an eerie resemblance to that tragic morning. Which got me thinking, “how many times over the past 23 years has the thought of a hijacked plane crashing into a building come into my head while I’m walking around Chicago or a recent trip I made to NYC?
Almost every time.
I posted these photos on some of my social media accounts asking the question, “Am I the only one who thinks about this whenever I see a plane over a large city?” I’m sure many who read this will have already answered that in your head with a “you aren’t alone.”
So Did The Terrorists Win?
My American pride wants to say “no.” But Then I think about Afghanistan and how several presidents managed to make zero lasting change to how it was on September 10th, 2001. It’s ironic that over the 20-year war we lost almost the same number of troops as we lost citizens on September 11th. Add in another 20,000 injured and who knows how many with PTSD. And it’s hard for me to put this in the W column.
I was not a George W. Bush fan, but dammit after 9/11 he was my president! The few days after the attacks I’ve never seen the country come more together than it did. Hours-long lines to give blood. Crime numbers dropping. That too was short lived and hard to put down as a win.
For a brief moment I dare say race was not an issue as the nation was color blinded by the event. But that of course didn’t extend past a few minutes for anyone who was of Middle-Eastern origins. Clearly not a win. Especially considering how we’d finally been teaching in our school the story of Japanese internment camps in America during WWII. Only to come out and totally forget the thing we all admitted was a mistake. This was not only not a win. I’d say it was a straight up lose on our part.
With that came the Patriot Act and the TSA. The fact everyone hates flying so much today feels like it’s directly related to post-9/11 requirements. Not a win.
We were told to go out and spend money to help the economy and prove they didn’t win. Just about 5-years later the ground work for the 2007 financial collapse was already starting to crumble. Many people and their retirement accounts just recovered in time for the pandemic in 2020. My IRA told me it was not a win.
I can’t admit defeat.
To say that the terrorist won that day wouldn’t just be admitting defeat. It would be incorrect. I think a better way to phrase it is America is a little more awake about the roll we play in the world today. We’re still in the game. But it will be a awhile before an entire population can watch a plane fly over a city without thinking about 9/11.