9/11’s legacy in the wake America’s current political climate
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) — After September 11, 2001, many Americans remember a sense of national unity.
“Everybody had this sense of unity, and the community came together as one, and we wanted to show the solidarity of both our community and our nation,” says Warren County Sheriff Brett Hightower.
Western Kentucky University Political Science Professor, Jeff Budziak explains, “The idea was that all Americans were under threat. We didn’t know where this might happen next. There was real concern that there’d be an ongoing escalation of terrorist attacks and so that really reinforced the conception of American identity, like we are all in this together.”
The terrorist attacks that happened 24 years ago affected people across political, racial and age lines. Some experts say tragedies often help us realize our similarities and differences.
“The sad reality exposed by the 9/11 terrorist attack is that really countries only solve their divisions and overcome polarization when something truly bad happens,” says University of Kentucky Political Science Professor Stephen Voss.
In contrast, responses to recent tragedies and acts of violence are often different. From yesterday’s assassination of Charlie Kirk to Minnesota house of representative Melissa Hortman and her husband and even President Trump’s attempted assassination last summer.
However, political violence has happened for years.
“In the 1950s, 60s, and early 70s, we saw lots of political assassinations, right? President Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr.,” states Budziak. “These things happen in American politics.”
Polls show the country is more polarized than ever and experts say the unity Americans felt in 2001 is much harder to find today.
“It’s a lot harder for American citizens to come up with a unified narrative about what has happened, let alone why it happened, because we’re so partitioned into different bubbles based on our pre-existing prejudices and stereotypes,” says Voss.
Experts find that often times when we search for information it is to confirm our preconceived notions.
Voss says while he used to recommend consuming left, right and mainstream media it is harder to seek truth within the media today because news sources at times don’t cover the same story.
Instead, he says to get away from your phone and interact with people from different backgrounds and experiences.
Experts say, understanding these patterns is key to preventing future violence and maintaining the country’s democratic process.
“My hope is that we find a way to move back in the other direction, but we shouldn’t be asleep at the possibility that we will go through a period where resolving concerns about politics through violence will happen sometimes,” says Budziak.
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