9/11 is slowly being forgotten. The 14th anniversary of 9/11 was a few weeks ago, and the day went by with little fanfare. A day that normally inspires national self-reflection has turned into just another anniversary. Back in 2013 coverage of 9/11 was already on the decline, with no politicians speaking at the Ground Zero Memorial for the first time. There is no longer enough public interest in 9/11 for politicians to bother to show up. The news didn’t even bother to talk about the upcoming expiration of benefits for 9/11 first responders until Jon Stewart started to champion the issue.
All the 9/11 coverage this year shared the same tone: remember the past, typified in the motto “Never Forget.” “Never Forget” has changed from a powerful phrase that inspires self-reflection to a hackneyed and meaningless mantra. I do not think it is an exaggeration to say 9/11 has been the defining moment of America in the 21st century. But people need to keep in mind that 9/11 is still defining America, and much of the world, to this day. Instead of 9/11 being a solemn day of remembrance, the anniversary should ignite debates about where our country is and where it is going.
I don’t think anyone can deny 9/11’s continuing impact on American politics and life. In the last 14 years security has become more heavy handed while people feel less secure. The National Security Agency has indiscriminately spied on an unprecedented number of people. The Transportation Security Administration continually reminds people they need to go through ridiculous steps in order to stay safe, even if those steps might not work. The Patriot Act gives the government enough power to “protect” people from terrorists, yet ultimately has infringed on Americans’ constitutional rights. All three of these are reactions to 9/11 and remain prominent in the United States today.
U.S. involvement in the world after 9/11 is still creating global turmoil. American troops have been in Afghanistan since 2001 and President Obama can’t seem to actually remove them all. Although the United States officially ended the Iraq War in 2011, the government sunk $2 trillion into the war. That money is sorely missed as the government struggles to pay for fundamental services like infrastructure. Pakistan suffers thousands of deaths from U.S. drone strikes which are working to eliminate the Taliban and Al Qaeda, two groups the United States has targeted since 9/11.
9/11 didn’t just cause a reaction by the government; it also had a profound impact on how Americans think. Muslims are in some places treated as second class citizens, immediately regarded as suspicious for anything they do. Just this last week a 14-year-old Muslim student was arrested for bringing a “bomb” to high school, which turned out to be a homemade clock. Americans are much more anxious after 9/11, according to a study done in 2012. Americans see the world as a much scarier place now.
I don’t think Americans will ever truly forget 9/11, but the way we remember it is holding us back as a country. Discussions about 9/11 focus on the heroes who died and the trauma the nation went through, not the effect it still has on our current lives. I do not want to minimize what those heroes accomplished during the attacks, and as a first responder myself I have the deepest respect and awe for what people did that day. However, people need to seriously confront the fear and hatred that 9/11 has caused. Americans have shoehorned themselves into a mindset of discrimination and violence because of how it has caused us to see the world. I don’t think we have to see things that way. We need to remember 9/11 so we can move past the current security state into a more free and productive future.
Bobby Doyle is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at b.doyle@cavalierdaliy.com.
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