United States after 9/11 - Perceptions of the family

The September 11 attacks, often referred to as September 11th or 9/11, were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by al-Qaeda upon the United States on September 11, 2001. According to Highsmith Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners. The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and many others working in the buildings. Both towers collapsed within two hours, destroying nearby buildings and damaging others. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. The fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville in rural Pennsylvania after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane, which the hijackers had redirected toward Washington, D.C. to target either the Capitol Building or the White House. There were no survivors from any of the flights (Highsmith).

This paper will attempt to shed light on the manner in which the family unit has been influenced as a result of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The terrorist attacks had a profound impact on America and its people. Highsmith asserts that it would not be wrong to state that the September 11 attacks came as a turning point in the history of the US. In essence, the September 11 terrorist attacks influenced the lifestyle of the common American man. The following paper will attempt to contribute to this discussion and shed light on the causes and affects that underlie the experiences of the family in the context of the September 11 terrorist attacks (Highsmith).

According to Britton, there were a total of 2,996 deaths, including the 19 hijackers and 2,977 victims. The victims were distributed as follows: 246 on the four planes (from which there were no survivors), 2,606 in New York City in the towers and on the ground, and 125 at the Pentagon (Britton). All the deaths in the attacks were civilians except for 55 military personnel killed in the attack on the Pentagon. Terrorism has a significant degree of impact on American society and it is because of this reason that the family has been influenced considerably as a result of the September 11 terrorist attack. The terrorist attack of September 11 had countless adverse implications on the US, but one positive implication of the terrorist attack was that it came as a wakeup call to the American community. American family units are now more closely knit than they ever were before.

Gard was of the opinion that the family has always remained a key unit of the American society. The culture that prevails in the American society gives a significant degree of importance to the family unit. This can be observed from the fact that most social events that are present in the American calendar give a significant degree of relevance to the presence of the American family as a unit (Gard). A simple skim ...