Looking Back on September 11, 2001

The Day I Got Into Politics - 22 Years Later

September 11, 2001 was the day I got interested in politics.

I was in 4th grade at the time, but didn’t go to school in the morning because I was at the doctor to get stitches removed.

While my mom was driving me to school after leaving the doctor, we heard about a plane striking the north tower on the radio. At that time, it was presumed an accident.

We were near my grandparents house, so my mom decided to stop by to check the news on TV instead of bringing me straight to school.

As we were watching, the 2nd plane struck the south tower. I’ll never forget my grandfather, a former Navy Captain, instantly stood up from his seat and said “we are under attack”.

My mom then had the audacity to drop me off at school after. I went right into class telling everyone “planes blew up the twin towers”.

Without cell phones at the time, my teacher had no idea what was happening. She assured the class that I was lying, and pulled me aside to try and shut me up.

A few minutes later, the intercom told the teachers to report to the main office, where they were given the news. My teacher came back and asked if anyone’s parents work in New York City… so of course, the 9 year old me jumped up and yelled “I TOLD YOU SO!”.

From then on, I became very interested in the news cycle (while being bombarded with neocon propaganda on the TV).

My teacher eventually called home and told my parents to stop letting me watch the news due to my daily journal entries about Operation Enduring Freedom.

A few times I even stood out on the side of the road with a sign that said “BEEP TO KILL OSAMA BIN LADEN”.

Before that day, 22 years ago, I didn’t really think much about politics or government. But on that day, life changed… forever.

And now you all have to deal with my political content.

Image Source: Hijacked United Airlines Flight 175, which departed from Boston en route for Los Angeles, is shown in a flight path for the south tower of the World Trade Center on Sept, 11, 2001, as the north Tower burns after American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into it at 8:45 a.m. by Robert Clark, Associated Press https://www.deseret.com/utah/2021/9/8/22661337/20-of-the-most-historic-9-11-images