9/11 is widely known for the events that occurred on September 11th, 2001. Four planes were hijacked in the morning of the day by al-Qaeda, a terrorist organization run by Osama Bin Laden. Two out of the four planes crashed into the World Trade Center, killing 2,977 people: 2,200 civilians, 343 firefighters, 23 police officers, and 37 Port Authority police officers. The third plane hit the Pentagon, killing the 64 civilians on the plane and 125 people who were inside the Pentagon where the plane crashed. The fourth plane did not make it to its destination due to the passengers interfering with the terrorists’ plans. A total of 112 people died when the plane crashed. This all led to the United States of America declaring war on Al-Qaeda and Afghanistan for harbouring the group.

The events of 9/11 affected the world drastically. The US created the Department of Homeland Security after the events of 9/11. There was a cultural shift, dividing the world into a pre- and after 9/11 world. Ever since 9/11, America’s airport security has drastically increased to prevent any more terrorists from getting hold of planes. The one good thing that occurred from the terrorist attack was that the United States started living up to its name and became more united to deal with the attacks. The country mourned for the deaths of the victims and unitedly held memorials and shared their thoughts. Instead of rebuilding the World Trade Center, they made a tribute of lights. They made lights in the shape of the towers stand tall in the night as a remembrance of the day. The states weren’t the only ones to mourn our allies; the United Kingdom broke a long tradition of playing their anthem outside the queen’s palace, instead they played the Star Spangled Banner for the people of the United States.

The events of 9/11 were very horrible and left a burning scar on our nation that our youth should care about. The youth should know about the people who sacrificed their lives to save the victims of the terrorist attacks. Many unnamed police officers and firefighters gave their lives to try to find victims in the rubble. While we cannot remember them by name, we can remember their spirits and passion to protect innocents. I think the youth of today do not take 9/11 as seriously as they should. People make inappropriate jokes about the innocent people who were victims of the attacks and the heroes who gave their lives to protect them. 9/11 should be remembered as a tragic event and shouldn’t be the center of jokes.