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The Rotunda
Wednesday, July 23, 2025

9/11 in Retrospect

10 years after the tragic events that unfolded on Sept. 11, 2001, where do we stand as a society? I would say that our culture is largely dominated by fear; fear of the unknown and fear of what is to come. That day was so heavily scrutinized that we base a great deal of our daily lives around the incidents of that very day.

I'll never forget where I was on 9/11. I was sitting in my sixth  grade classroom at Princess Anne Middle School in Virginia Beach, probably less than a month into the school year. I remember my teacher having a really concerned look on his face and telling us this would be a day that we would always remember. The news coverage was so extensive. Every channel was dominated by 9/11 coverage, as were the images of the towers collapsing that has become ingrained into our brains. I didn't know what had actually happened until I got home that day. Those images are something you don't really forget.

2001: let's take a look back. George W. Bush was president. "Friends" was the #1 show on television. "Hybrid Theory" by Linkin Park was the top-selling album of the year. And the very first "Harry Potter" film came out and became the highest-grossing film of the year. But more than just that, our culture was facing a lot of changes, which would only continue to change in the years to come. This was the dawn of the illegal music downloading era. It was the peak of the reality show craze. It was the beginning of the new millennium, and the events of that day left a stain on the next decade. So many things occurred in the decade, and even that year, but 9/11 will forever stand out.

When I am older, my children will connect the 2000s with 9/11 and the "war on terror." The impact of that day truly did lead us into a fearing culture. If you think about all of the things that followed … anthrax, bird flu, swine flu, the War in Iraq, the War in Afghanistan, terrorist attacks all over the globe ... All of these things culminated into fear.

2011: Barack Obama is now the president. "Friends" is probably being played even as I write this article in syndication. Now, "American Idol" is on top. When people actually do purchase music, the total sales are never as high as they were 10 years ago. Unlike in 2001, there is now digital cable, DVR, iPads, Blu-Ray discs, and so many others that were not available to us before. We have had technological advances and advances in medicine. We have seen momentous changes in the way people see the world and the way people interact with each other.

 

After the attacks on 9/11, there have been numerous fictional accounts of the day in Hollywood feature films such as "Reign over Me," United 93," "World Trade Center," "Remember Me," and more. It has made an enormous impact on film and the entertainment industry as a whole.

In true American fashion, we have been able to overcome the adversity that 9/11 brought upon us. 10 years later, we are still the United States of America. Sure, we may have problems both economically and socially, but at the end of the day, this is still the best country in the world, and the best place to live. Freedom of speech is something that people often take for granted, and may not even understand. But having the right to free speech says that the government cares about the views of the people. There are so many places in the world where this is not the case. There are so many places to this day where people are fighting for the very freedoms that people lost their lives fighting for on 9/11.

So, now that the10th  anniversary of 9/11 has passed, I urge that people do not let this day become just a memory. Be aware of the rights and freedoms that so many continue to fight for. And always be proud to be an American.

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