Most important event in the history of America - Essay Example

? Most Important Event in the History of America Introduction One of the most important events in the history of America that took place in the very beginning of the 21st century was the World Trade Center attack of 11 September, 2001. On that day, the Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked planes and hit the towers killing many and injuring so may both physically and mentally. Millions of people watched the planes hitting the heights of American might and exploding into fragments. Later accounts prove that in fact, the incident had deeper impact on the American society than one would perceive, and the American society has transformed a lot as a result of the attack; socially, economically, and politically. Various scholars have looked into the various effects of the attack, and the results of the studies reveal how dramatically the society has altered as a result of the attack, and even after a decade, the effects are still visible. The Social and Psychological Impact Being the most vulnerable section in the society, children deserve the first analysis. The work by Joy looked into the variation in fear levels in children after the September 11 attack in order to asses the way the attack impacted the children in the US. The study revealed that nearly half a year after the attack, about 25% of the children in New York had anxiety and emotional problems as a result of the terrorist attack. Quoting the Vogel and Vernberg theory, Joy opines that in the post attack period, the fear and trauma associated with the disaster is likely to increase in children (461-466). Similarly, Mario Caruso looked into how severe the impact of September 11 attack on the American adult psyche is. The study too finds that a considerable proportion of people in the U.S developed negative beliefs and fears and as a consequence, there is a rise in escapist drinking and depression. According to Mario Caruso, a considerable proportion of people believe that this kind of attacks is likely to happen again and that the government will not be able to help them. In order to understand how terribly the incident shook the mentality of people, one should look into the study by Schuster, Stein, Jaycox, and Collins who conducted a survey on the stress reactions after the September 11 attack. In the interview that was conducted among 560 US people, about 44% of the participants exhibited one or more important symptoms of stress while nearly 90% had considerable degree of stress, though not severe. In addition, it was found in the study that 98% of the people had to talk to others to reduce stress. 90% turned towards religion for solace, and 60% decided to participate in group activities to shed stress. Nearly 36% decided to make donations as a way to get rid of the fear (1507-1512). According to Schuster, Stein, Jaycox and Collins, it made 34% of the respondents to restrict their children from watching television. If one is aware of the various measures taken by authorities to reduce TV watching hours in children and the poor result of those efforts, one will find it easy to understand the huge impact of this attack that made nearly a third of the people ban television for their children. From the discussion one thing becomes evident. American people have lost their feeling of security despite the best efforts made by the government in its domestic and international policies. Increased Police Surveillance after 11 September Admittedly, the nation witnessed a new statute in the name of the Patriot Act and the amendment of various other statutes to be in harmony with the same. Some such statues that got attention are Electronic Communications Privacy Act and Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act. The Patriot Act is intended to give the nation’s police more surveillance and search powers and the right to access private information. This Act made it possible for the police to enhance both domestic and international surveillance through various statutes like Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Immigration and Naturalization Act, Wiretap Act, and Bank Security Act. A large number of new measures of surveillance like gag orders, and ‘sneak and peek’ search warrants again gained support. While the Electronic Communications Privacy Act was revised to allow police to use court issued warrants to intercept electronic communication and data in harmony with the Patriot Act, the Communication Assistance for Law Enforcement Act was strictly imposed to make all ISP/CSP providers allow police to access surveillance or wiretapping according to court orders. In addition, as a result of the need for increased surveillance, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation has developed an internet surveillance program which is known as ‘Carnivore’. The Social Impact of Heightened Security Though, admittedly, the increased security measure helps prevent terrorism in a better way, its impact on the psychological wellbeing of people is disputed. It is found that the renewed means significantly cut down the privacy the people enjoyed as an integral part of American civil life. Now, government agencies are able to sneak into the communication and even into TV watching pattern of people, thus resulting in zero privacy for people. In fact, the heightened security is accompanied by heightened anxiety and heightened suspicion. Evidently, for centuries, US had been a hotspot for immigrants from various geographical areas. However, the 11 September attack resulted in reduced population movement into the region. It is pointed out by Christopher that the attack slowed down the migration to the United States. Christopher points out that the month of October 2001 witnessed a 29% fall in all legal migrants to US, and the illegal crossing through the Southwest border came down by 54%. Admittedly, this trend resulted in a decline in the Latin American and Caribbean economies (29-32). For the Western hemisphere immigrants living in the US, there were less employment opportunities and this discouraged the international population movement for a while. Now, it is time to look into the impact of the attack on US economy. Impact on American Economy According to Yerger, the September 11 attack resulted in a four day halt in the US stock market, thus causing the stocks to fall immediately. This worsened the American economy that was already weak because of the recession. These two situations together made the consumers unwilling to invest n the American turmoil. It is pointed out by Jackson that as a result of the attack, there was a 7.13% fall in the Dow Jones’ industrial average. Jackson tells that in fifteen days, the fall was nearly 15% and even after a year, the difference was nearly 12.76%. (12-13) 11 September Attack and the US International Policy Evidently, the 11 September attack was shocking to the entire America, and it was forced to revolutionize its policy in the case of Middle East. According to experts, US only had three purposes for half a decade before the attack. They were to ensure security for Israel, to ensure adequate availability of oil, and to have a check on the Soviet Union influence in the region. Gaddis holds the view that as U.S was the main Western figure in the region, it gained the highest degree of wrath of terrorists, and thus became the target of attack. As the attack took place, there arose a situation that is similar to the one it faced when there was communist aggression from Russia. If it was communism against which US fought in the past, it is terrorism this time. America found it necessary to again start war till security is ensured. Soon, there were attacks in Afghanistan and Taliban was driven out of Kabul. The attack was to ensure that Bin Laden loses his grounds. That was just the beginning of the great war against terrorism. Exactly seventeen months after the attack, Bush administration launched attack on Iraq and Baghdad was secured on April 9, 2003. Soon, Saddam Hussein met his end in the hands of the US administration. As it was realized that the strongholds of Bin Laden spreads to Pakistan too, there were continued military actions even within the boundaries of Pakistan and soon, Bin Laden too was killed. Now, it becomes evident that after eliminating the radicals, the US wants to ensure democracy in the Middle East as that is the only way that will ensure security for America. There are agitations for freedom in many of the Middle East regions, and nations like Libya and Egypt are in turmoil. The latest dictator who met his end as there is renewed people’s agitation is Gaddafi. Conclusion In total, it becomes evident that all spheres of American life have been impacted by the attack on 11 September. The people lost their feeling of security, and a considerable proportion of children are still suffering from fear and depression as a result of the attack. In addition, the increased security measures took away the privacy and individual liberty that were considered as the basic tenets of American social life. The American economy is affected as investors feared to invest in the economy. In addition, there is a boosting up of security at both national and international level. For the purpose, new statutes are developed and the old ones are amended. In addition, the nation fought terrorists going to their homelands in the Middle East and has made the people in the Middle East to struggle for democratic rule. Works Cited Christopher Mitchell. “The significance of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks for United States- bound migration in the Western Hemisphere.” The International Migration Review. 36.1 (Spring 2002): 29-32. Joy, J Burnham. “Children’s fears: A pre-9/11 and post 9/11 comparison using the American fear survey schedule for children.” Journal of Counseling and Development. 85.4 (Fall 2007): 461-466. John Lewis Gaddis, “Setting right a dangerous world”, The Chronicle Review, January 11, 2002, http://chronicle.com.ai.libproxy.edmc.edu/article/Setting-Right-a-Dangerous/7477/ Mario Caruso, “Rhetoric and reality: the lessons of 9/11”, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Sunday, November 6, 2011, http://chronicle.com.ai.libproxy.edmc.edu/article/RhetoricReality-The/129181/ Schuster, Mark A, Stein, Bradley D, Jaycox, Lisa H & Collins, Rebecca L. “A national survey of stress reactions after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.” The New England Journal of Medicine. 345.20, (15 November, 2001): 1507-1512. Yerger, David B. “The economic costs of 9/11 on the U.S.” Phi Kappa Phi Forum, Fall 2011: 12-13, SIRS Issues Researcher. Read More