I was seven when the towers were hit. My mom saw it happen live on television, and she woke me up after the first tower was hit. I remember that when the first tower was hit, everyone thought it was a terrible accident. Then I remember the second tower being hit and everyone realizing what was going on. That day my dad and brother went out and bought a giant American flag and hung it from the porch. The next day, everyone had one. Everyone was a nationalist for a while.
Then I remember when the anthrax attacks happened, I was hardly allowed outside. I wasn't allowed to check our mail, or touch the front door knob. I remember us buying a lot of those little white masks you wear when you're cutting wood so you don't breathe in saw dust. That continued for a while even after the attacks were completely over.
As I grew up, there was always fighting about politics. When we invaded Afghanistan, my family supported it because they loved the idea of catching Osama Bin Ladin and because they were afraid. I supported it because I was young, that's what my family supported and because I was also afraid. Everyone thought he would be captured fast. As it is, the war is still going on, and my brother will be there soon as marine reconnaissance.
When we invaded Iraq, my dad and brother thought it would be a short affair, like in the 90's. They thought that we'd be out in a week, and take less than 100 casualties. My mom said that if we went to war with Iraq again, this time it would be for years, and thousands of people would die. Unfortunately, she was right. The scariest part of the Iraq war for me was when my brother was there as an Air Force fire fighter, unarmed, in zones where bombs had just gone off.
As time went on, I grew more cynical about the U.S. and its motives in the Middle East. While I had been exposed to politics since I was 6, and being the little mamma's boy I was, against the Iraq War from the day of the initial invasion, it was when I was 11 that I started reading political works for myself. The first full length political piece I wrote was Whatever Happened to Justice, which inspired me to adopt ideas of Libertarianism, and some of Anarchism. At the time, I didn't really understand how the private sector exploits. However, as I grew up, I learned more about the exploitation of both corrupt governments and corporations, and, while keeping the same ideals of social liberties, adopted a Socialist economic world-view.
As I study politics now, I'm starting to have hope for the world. Through such leftist ideologies as Social Democracy and Socialism, I see a genuine chance at development. I'm still very cynical though. I have been more cynical than I am now for most of my life, and will most likely be at least a bit cynical my whole life due to the events following 9/11.
I actually wrote a song called "Aftermath" outlining this same idea. If I had a recording, I would link to it, but I do not.
"Those buildings can break?" I was about 11 at the time I guess? Funny thing is, its one of the few memories I have of the time, hearing it on the radio news about how the towers were destroyed.
