The effects of 9/11 continue to reverberate throughout the world. The event was a terrible tragedy which resulted in the murder (there is no other way to describe it) of thousands of innocents. Without doubt, this was a traumatic moment for Americans. The question is why is this event still such a major trauma on the psyche of Americans 10 years after the event?
America has faced far more dangerous and traumatic situations in its history. The civil war was a defining tragedy which played a decisive role in forging the nation. The two World Wars resulted in the deaths of thousands of Americans under conditions far more terrible than those of 9/11 in New York. The civil rights movements had far greater implications for American development. Why then has the US reacted (and continues to react) so hysterically to 9/11? Forget about what the US is doing to the rest of the world. America has eviscerated its vaunted domestic freedoms; something it did not do during the Civil War when its very existence was at stake.
Why is the US population still afraid? What exactly is it afraid of? If the situation is considered objectively, the US is still the largest and richest economy in the world. It has the largest and most sophisticated military. No matter what its present economic troubles, there is currently no country in the world that can seriously threaten its existence or its integrity. Its way of life is in no danger of being overwhelmed by anybody. Indeed, the opposite is true. Other countries are afraid of the cultural juggernaut that is Hollywood. Its news broadcasters and other forms of cultural exports are eagerly snapped up by people around the world.
Given all this, why has a section of its population been demonised because of their religion? Why does the general population seem afraid of Muslims? Where is the fear coming from?
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