MovieWes wrote:ITALIANO wrote:MovieWes - I said: in the context of history. Study history (not only American history) and you will see that I am right.
9/11 is the most significant event
in the world to happen within my lifetime. And not just because of the loss of life on that day. It is more because of how it changed American society in general and, more explicitly, the events that were either directly or indirectly triggered as a result (the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq). The events and attitudes that were sparked as a result of 9/11 have touched every single American, regardless of race, religion, gender, orientation, etc. And 9/11 really reaches even further than the U.S. (since I know that you're gonna get on my case if I don't bring the rest of the world into this discussion).
The United States is not the only country involved in the "War on Terrorism" (yeah, that's what I'm calling it, regardless of whether or not people are offended by the term). Besides American forces, there have been soldiers from Great Britain, Canada, Australia, Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Poland, Armenia, Estonia, Denmark, Georgia, South Korea, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the Ukraine, Lithuania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Mongolia, Romania, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, New Zealand, Japan, Italy, Slovakia, Thailand, Norway, Hungary, Singapore, Macedonia, and Latvia stationed in the Middle East at some point. Not all of them are still there, but there are many countries besides the U.S. that still are. And much of this can be attributed to the attacks on 9/11. Maybe not directly -- I honestly don't believe that Iraq was in any way related, at least at first, to the attack on 9/11, even though the government tries to use it as a blanket for the entire Middle Eastern conflict now -- but at least indirectly. I'll at least say that I doubt that we'd be over there right now if 9/11 had never happened.
And so what if the attacks of 9/11 are dwarfed by world events such as the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, or WWI and WWII? It is still a major atrocity and not minor in the least. 3,000 people dying in one day is not minor. If you consider that minor, then you're either a total idiot or you need to have your head examined.