The author Ian Frazier has weighed in on the subject of patriotic ideals in his off-beat account of being a good American in his essay “All-Consuming Patriotism”. In the opening paragraphs of his story, Frazier satires the typical ideal of an American from the view of the world: materialistic, vain, self-centered, obese, and wasteful. His character professes to worry about his ability to shop to meet the needs of the country’s current economic demand. He cries as he shops, to fulfill his duties as an American, because it is now currently acceptable to cry in public by popular decree. He buys items that he clearly does not need, and if he purchases the wrong products his wife just throws them away instead of donating them to a family in need that was stricken by the attacks of 9/11. As the story progresses, the reader clearly begins to understand the implied farce. The author begins to compare the struggles of today with excerpts from a book called “Trials and Triumphs: The record of the Fifty-Fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry." These brave men and women were true Americans who understood the meaning of sacrifice of one’s self for the greater good of their country. The contrast between spending in excess and the sacrifices of time, blood, sweat, and tears made by the men and women of the Civil War era is the perfect tone to resonate the true meaning of All-Consuming Patriotism. American history teaches citizens of the parody the state of the country’s government is in compared to the glory days of the past. As stated by Ian Frazier, "[our elected leaders] think of us as customers that must be kept happy” (Frazier 394). In other words, most of our national leader’s backgrounds are in the private economic sector; Americans today tend to... ... middle of paper ... ...perhaps all Americans should be required, as part of our civil duties, to volunteer our time in service of our community. What if we as a nation were to require our children to attend a mandatory course on civil liberties and responsibility as part of their high school curriculum? Would we have a better understanding of our duties as members of our society? While I agree that most American lives did not change as drastically as predicted, mine did due to the birth of my son. It was a wonderful occasion for my family; it was just marred by the acts of violence in the world around us. Works Cited Frazier, Ian. “All-Consuming Patriotism” The Writer’s Presence: A Pool of Readings. Eds. Donald McQuade and Robert Atwan. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. 393-396. Print. Andersen, Kurt. “Terror’s Half-Life” TIME. TIME, 19 Sept. 2011.Web. 6 Oct 2011
9/11 changed our lives as we know it today. That day put fear and terror in our hearts. We witness terrorism before but never to that magnetism. As the United States watched in terror as the towers fell we knew that this was the beginning of war against terrorism. But at the same time we all were asking why someone would do this horrific thing. The Middle East has been in a holy war for centuries. Now this war has made it to our lands. Al Qaeda a malicious group of terrorists had claim blame
that the crashes themselves were the most devastating and terrifying part of the attacks, the fall of the towers caused the most damage and heartbreak all over the country. The first tower to collapse was the South Tower (Inside 9/11: War on America). It came crashing down at 9:59 a.m., almost fifty-six minutes after the initial impact, silencing the city. When the towers were built, they were built to withstand extreme conditions. The towers contained a series of fireproofing. However, the impact of
day resulted in the biggest emergency service response ever in US history. Hundreds of police officers, EMS, and firefighters surrounded the area. However, according to a New York Times article, “The New York Police Department's response to the Sept. 11 attack was effective in many areas but suffered from lapses in leadership and coordination and a lack of proper planning and training, according to a draft report by an independent consultant for the department.” (Rashbaum, 2002) To be a cop, one must
On September 11th, 2000, America was changed forever, with repercussions still being felt today, due to a domestic terrorist attack by the terrorist group al-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, which targeted historic locations in the U.S through airline hijackings and suicide attacks, which was done by 19 terrorists. The terrorists had crashed planes in the Twin Towers, The Pentagon, and a failed attempt which resulted in a crashed ¬plane in Pennsylvania. Over 2,996 people had died in total during these
these lasting impressions have the ability to change who we are, they change our attitudes, our personalities and they change our lives. Every so often, these events come to us on such a level they impact far more than a handful of people. Unfortunately as a society we have been witness to several on such a level. The history of the grand RMS Lusitania is one event on this level that left thousands of souls changed forever.
by subnational groups or clandestine agents” (Gupta12). The implications of terrorism go beyond the casualties. Terrorism has evolved drastically; the ramifications of these unjustifiable acts of terror have and are having a great impact in our everyday lives. A single act of terror can strike fear and gloom into an entire country. Dipak K. Gupta, in his book Who Are the Terrorists? (2006), illustrates what terrorism is and its origin, as well as arguing what is an act of terror. Dipak sates that
many people are losing their lives. Our nation has had to go through some horrible tragedies before. Pearl Harbor and 9/11 are both tragedies that have changed the lives of many people. The different responses of both presidents that were running the white house at the time those catastrophes occurred delivered a speech that gave hope to our people when they were despairing. These strikes were a surprise to our nation and were both caused by different reasons. After 9/11 it took people a lot of time
Ryan Ciminski Coury World History-10A 09 September 2017 What changed. All states face an individual, group, or other state that is an adversary to their state's security, development, and values. In order to face these threats, countries must change in order to defend who they are and what they represent. This was learned on September 11th, 2001 when radicalist insurgents attempted and succeeded to make a permanent scar on the United States of America. The acts committed tried to make a direct
After September 11 at approximately 8:45 the most remarkable skyscraper the two buildings everyone came from everywhere to see was changed forever.september of 2001 there was a terrorist attack involving a group of extremist Islamic people.they had bored different planes going different places across the united states.when two hijackers hijacked the planes headed the planes off course straight to New york city.No one new what was really happening until the first plane crashed into the first remarkable
Draft of History Essay The Tragedy that Changed America 9/11 was one of the most devastating events in American History. Four hijacked passenger airplanes killed almost three thousand people. 9/11 changed millions of lives forever. American Citizens didn’t feel safe. This attack was a wake-up call to American security. 9/11 forced the country to acknowledge its shortcomings and fix them, before any more harm could come upon the United States of America. 9/11, as all acts of terror do, promoted
Act Protects America Since September 11, 2001 many people can say that America has changed. Many people question if America has changed for the better or has it just gotten worse. Since the day those four planes crashed around the United States people’s lives have been changed. Many may not realize how their lives have changed, but with new laws passed life is different within America. The United States Patriot Act is one of the laws passed after 9/11: singed into order on October 26, 2001 just
stood for how powerful and rich America was. The day of the attacks was a normal day for citizens. Then, in an instant, everything changed. 19 militants from an Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda decided to carry out a plan to attack America (“9/11 Attacks”). Approximately, at 5:45 A.M. the hijackers passed security clearances, and took off in Flight 11 a few hours later (“Interactive 9/11 Timelines... ... middle of paper ... ...to America, but America has gained intelligence on how to protect
Susana Vidal Mrs. Salinas English II 29 April 2018 9 September 2001 Introduction: “If we learned nothing else from this tragedy, we learned that life is too short and that there is no time for hate.” More than 3,000 people were killed during the attack, the towers each were one hundred and ten stories tall. Thesis: September 11 is an unforgotten day because it was a day that traumatized humanity and it impacted the economy. Body Paragraphs: I. After all, there is approximately 100,000 people in
How did 9/11 change Canada? Imagine the world slows and four planes crash. Then imagine us Canadians getting the news those four planes crashed, but these are not just four random crashes; one hits the pentagon and two destroy the twin towers and one just misses its target the pentagon. Now just imagine how this would change Canada. 9/11 changed Canada significantly because of certain measures taken. These measure were mostly changes in security like sending troops to Afghanistan, increase in border
Introduction Members of Al-Qaeda hijacked four airliners on the morning of September 11, 2001, with an objective of carrying out suicide attacks against some key targets in the United States. These four planes destroyed buildings such as the Pentagon, Twin Towers in New York City and a field in Pennsylvania. The attack claimed the lives of over 2,900 innocent Americans. It also became the changing point in our society as it fueled wars which brought about racism and discrimination, increased the