ten years of ground zero

I was young back then and living in Budapest, but I still remember everything from the location of the television, to the color of sunlight that poured into the window. I think I remember because of my mom, her reaction made me realize something was going on.

9/11 of 2001, a date, month, and year in time that when remembered, brings back unsettling thoughts of the mass tragedy that occurred on that day, the memories of which, have been forever seared into the minds of millions. It began with the shock that could only be described as paralyzing, then came the fear, fear for family, for friends, for loved ones. Back to the shock, but it's no longer paralyzing. Days, months, also years come to pass, and the aftermath, its despair, so detrimental that its effect dominates both the physical and psychological sides of the tragedy. Everyone working at their desk that day on the 101st-105th floors of the North Tower, died. this was only a fraction of the total losses and wounded that day and the days that came after. the economical damages also devastated thousands of families with hundreds of small businesses closed and 65,000 jobs lost or relocated. As a whole, the nations' perspective I believe has been blown out of proportion. Following the events of 9/11, America has subjected itself to a heightened sense of paranoia and mass suspicion of foreigners and even fellow citizens. This behavior is not entirely lacking in validity, but it becomes deficient when common geniality is sacrificed and a simple act of compassion becomes the last resort. But even though nothing positive came out of this almost historical landmark, thats not to say that the nation isn't recovering well. The Volume of Apartment sales has increased by 151% since 2003, resident population has more than doubled to 56,000 since 2001, and six new schools have opened there since 2009, but no matter what, the losses of 9/11 will always be properly memorialized.

The U.S. government launched a "War on Terror" campaign that has involved many other nations including the United Kingdom and other members of NATO. because of this international force dedicated to fighting terrorism, many terrorist attacks have successfully been prevented, the Taliban has also been brought down in Afghanistan, and infamous dictator Sadame houssain has also met his demise (not taking into account the controversy of the death sentence). Various missions such as these have allowed for things like civil rights and democracy to re-establish themselves in impoverished countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq, but none of this was achieved without sacrifices. Many brave soldiers have been separated from their families, some have never returned, also we can't forget the civilians that have perished as "collateral damage", and not to mention the financial dent put on the economy because of excess spending on military investments. So keeping in mind that to every good intention there's a pitfall, the question remains: where exactly does the balance fall? which outweighs the other? was it all worth-it?