We often read the world will never be the same after September 11. We hear how monumental this event was, how it has changed world history.
Of course, more violent, brutal and horrible slaughters have been carried out around the world in the last decade. Rwanda, Somalia, the Congo, Aceh and Burma have all seen brutal massacres and violent regimes in recent years, among many other places. So was it September 11 that changed everything or what we, the Western world, chose to do in response?
Was September 11, in and of itself, a world changing event or is it that September 11 was a spark that set the West on a particular path?
Posted by fiazko (Member # 5812) on :
at the risk of being completely disputed, here is how i look at it. 9/11 was monumental for americans and as a result, we're basically perpetuating the shock wave, and it's spreading across the globe through several different channels: the war in iraq, the war on terror, etc.
9/11 raked a vast majority of americans out of blissful oblivion. the government and the country's reaction is continuing to impact the rest of the world.
i don't know if the world is different as a whole. it just seems so because, using your example of rwanda and somalia and so on, americans have more, louder voices. somewhere during the pursuit of freedom, the motto has gone more towards 'to each his own,' but somehow we're still largely made up of die-hard patriots. 9/11 happened to all of us, so the voice of our entire country is being heard as opposed to a small, passionate group.
i hope this is remotely coherent.
Posted by Occasional (Member # 5860) on :
I don't think its changed much of anything, other than the focus of news coverage. Now, if 9/11 was the first strike among many strikes within the United States and Europe proper, than I think there could be a case for change. Otherwise, the Middle East is as it has always been; violent and intemperate. The West and Europe is as they always have been; big, powerful, and easy target for rhetoric and stray bombers.