Everything that goes up must come down, but does everything coming down truly need to crumble? Demolished buildings, lost lives and a horrific confusion. September 11, 2001 devastated much more than a few landmarks and communities. The attacks affected the entire world, in many different ways. For American's the loss was emotional as well as physical. The hijackers stole much more than just lives--they invaded the human psyche. The events of that day rattled the soul of every American and struck fear into the breaking hearts of the nation. The entire world tuned in to watch images many will never be able to erase, because they were like nothing the audience had ever seen before. .
Americans may have no clue what total unrest or anarchy is like, but the nation is no stranger to death or destruction. "The American experience of terrorism within her borders is so limited that attempts to extrapolate broader inferences and scenarios from the incidents are necessarily limited." (Taylor 2001) Not for lack of effort though. As far back as 1987, the United States has been the number one target for international terrorists. (Onwudiwe, 2001) The American government has ordinarily been able to protect its people though. In the months following the September 11th attacks, the news was covered with evidence that something could have been done. People say the United States government didn't do all that it could or should have. Many American people felt for the first time that their government had let them down. "Intelligence lapses may have allowed the hijackers to enter and live in the United States for months. Information gathered earlier indicated that various known operatives around the world anticipated the big event." (Woodward 2002).
The Oklahoma City bombing and the 1993 bombing of the Twin Towers opened America's eyes to terrorism and forced the country to realize that they are not untouchable or truly safe.