Brandon Dooley
Eng-305
Paper 3
That September Day
One of the main themes exemplified in Foer’s work Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is how one particular family has been affected by major disastrous events, specifically the Dresden bombings and the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center towers. Lives precious to the family were lost, resulting in the mess of painful feelings Foer creatively expresses as a main factor of communication break-down and disconnection between the members. In an effort to cause the reader to understand these types of factors more in-depth, this paper will be dedicated to the 9/11 attacks and the resulting wave of effect that they had on not only individuals, but the nation and the world alike.
Outside the fact that 2,977 American people died in total due to the attacks (Glazier, 2008), one study found that nearly 50,000 rescue workers, office workers, and residents have reported numerous respiratory symptoms, including developments of asthma, loss of lung function, and sinus issues. The asthma was reported to appear during the first 16 months after the attacks. Other respiratory issues were found to be persistent among those affected; four times as many fire-fighters and twice as many EMS workers compared to those found to be affected within the first year after the attacks have been reported experiencing lower than normal lung function 6-7 years after the attacks. Other studies have found that sarcoidosis, acid reflex, and other gastro-esophageal reflex disorders have appeared in affected people. (Annual Report on 9/11 Health, 2010)
Beside physical health decline, many mental illnesses also developed in the aftermath. The most common of these, “identified by a positive screening using a standardized psychological assessment tool,” is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Those screening positive for PTSD were either “(1) Caught in the dust cloud released by the buildings as they collapsed, (2) Injured as a result of the attacks, (3) Directly exposed to the events of 9/11, including proximity to the WTC site, witnessing horrific events, or knowing someone who was killed or injured in the attack, (and) (4) Among rescue and recovery workers, early arrival at the WTC site, working there for a long time, or doing tasks outside of their trained area of expertise.”(Annual Report on 9/11 Health, 2010). Luckily, two analyses of the New York City death records found that suicide rates had not increased in the first four years after the attacks. Other mental illness were suggested to exist, such as depression and anxiety, but no one had studied the existence of these as much as PTSD, so no data is available as to those.
Moving outside the effects on individuals, the United States changed its position on many factors, including national security. All someone has to do nowadays is go to an airport to fly somewhere and that person will experience the extent to which the government goes to make sure that its citizens are ‘protected’ (“shoes off, laptops open, no metallic objects, no coats”, ect). The problem that seems to arise is that everyone becomes suspect, for the terrorists hide among normal everyday individuals walking down the street and thus anyone could be a terrorist. This thought prompted an over 6,000 page document to be ratified October 26, 2001, forty-five days after the attacks, called the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act). This allowed law enforcement officials ease of access to any individual’s personal information, including but not limited to all communications, all medical, all financial, and all criminal/legal records; this power was and is still used in order to determine if any terrorist activity is occurring within the states. To this date, most of the provisions within the act have remained national law. Even some ‘sunshine laws,’ or temporarily enact portions of the act, remained in law years after the date they were to expire. The two main provisions that remained for an extended period of time were section 206, the roving wiretap provision, and section 215, which allowed access to business records under FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act). Through this law, America now became suspect of itself and anyone it had dealings with; America essentially became the watch-dogs of the world through its various financial dealings and through the War on Terrorism. This lead the U.S. into the war on Iraq because U.S. intelligence saw that Saddam was attempting to gain the ability to make warheads and biological weapons, which is something he was trying to do since the U.N. began to inspect Iraq continuously between 1991 and 1998, and was found planning to use such weapons against the United Kingdom and other places around the world. Iraq also was found to harbor and train terrorists at various camps, nearly 2,000 a year since 1999. (Frontpagemag, 2007; Iraq Watch, 2006).
Again, though, another problem arises. Many countries have began to argue as to whether or not the U.S. has the right to act as the “police of the world.” This is where part of the effects on the world come into play. The Pew Global Attitudes Project surveyed more than 90,000 people in 50 nations, including many Arab and Muslim countries, in 2002 and 2003, finding that people in these nations favored the United States less than all other countries out there. Those that were Anti-American were found to be frustrated at the United States policies, “such as the war in Iraq, the war on terrorism, and U.S. support for Israel, in addition to the general perception that the U.S. fails to consider the interests of countries in the region when it acts in the international arena.” (Kohut, 2005). In another study, support by Britain, France, and Germany seemed to waver tremendously between summer of 2002 and March of 2004, where at times the nations were highly favorable of the U.S., then a few months later they would generally dislike the U.S. and the war. Overall, though, “there is broad agreement in nearly all of the countries surveyed - the U.S. being a notable exception - that the war in Iraq hurt, rather than helped, the war on terrorism.” (Pew Research, 2004). Though much of the world disagrees with the U.S. methodology for taking care of the terrorist problem, the activities of terrorist groups and the information found about support for those activities has definitely caught the world’s attention.
Views in America on Islam and Muslims as a whole has changed dramatically as well. Many Americans were aware but not concerned with Islam before the 9/11 attacks; once the attacks occurred, Americans became interesting in Muslims, their beliefs, and their activities. A poll found that after the attacks 41% of Americans had a negative view of Islam. In 2006, it was found that the number increased to 47% of Americans. The reason for this increase: “Conservative and liberal experts said Americans' attitudes about Islam are fueled in part by political statements and media reports that focus almost solely on the actions of Muslim extremists.” (Deane & Fears, 2006). The media thus had to responded to the interest in Islam and had portrayed to the American public specific events only pertaining to a certain extremist sector, events that normally “sells,” that the masses are generally interested in (violence, sex, and the weather are the usual selling topics).
It was no surprised then when Muslims declared they wanted to build a Muslim mosque on the WTC site, a complete national uproar rose up against allowing it to be built. Arguments arose on both sides, one towards religious freedom and one towards the message. Most American’s (62%) do believe that Muslims should have the right to religious freedom, but as for building a mosque on the site itself, 51% support opposition to the building as compared to 34% (Pew Research, 2010). Those in opposition believe that building a mosque on the site indicates support for the radical portions of Islam many are against (even Muslims in radical-supporting countries are beginning to lose support for such tactics). Charles Krauthammer of the Washington Post had this to say:
“Radical Islam is not, by any means, a majority of Islam. But with its financiers, clerics, propagandists, trainers, leaders, operatives and sympathizers -- according to a conservative estimate, it commands the allegiance of 7 percent of Muslims, i.e., more than 80 million souls -- it is a very powerful strain within Islam. It has changed the course of nations and affected the lives of millions. It is the reason every airport in the West is an armed camp and every land is on constant alert.

Ground Zero is the site of the most lethal attack of that worldwide movement, which consists entirely of Muslims, acts in the name of Islam and is deeply embedded within the Islamic world. These are regrettable facts, but facts they are. And that is why putting up a monument to Islam in this place is not just insensitive but provocative.” (Capehart, 2010)

Others point out that the other 93% not part of Radical Islam should attest to the religion as a whole instead of the narrow views induced by that other 7% percent. As mentioned earlier, though, the media has portrayed Islam in a certain extremist way, and with 55% of the population found August 24, 2010 either did not knowing very much or did not know anything at all about Muslim, the media is where people turn to in order to find out such information; obviously problematic. (Pew Research, 2010) Nevertheless, this particular topic has lead to tea parties by Republicans and is predicted to lead Republican votes in the 2010 November elections. (Smith, 2010).
America and the world has been affected by the attack of 9/11. From medical and mental issues to beliefs about Islam to distrust of America to opening the eyes of the world of the problems with terrorism, changes have been and are continuing to be made. It has been 9 years since the attacks, but the effects will live with us for quite some time.

















Bibliography
Wikipedia.org.(2010, October 14th). USA PATRIOT ACT. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_PATRIOT_Act

National Institute of Standards and Technology: U.S. Department of Commerce (2008, November). Final Report on the Collapse of World Trade Center Building 7. Retrieved from: http://wtc.nist.gov/NCSTAR1/PDF/NCSTAR%201A.pdf

Glazier, Liz. (Issued: 2008, September 12th) Lost lives remembered during 9/11 ceremonies. Retrieved from: http://media.www.theonlinerocket.com/media/storage/paper601/news/2008/09 /12/News/Lost-Lives.Remembered.During.911.Ceremony-3427598.shtml

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Deane, Claudia; Darryl Fears. (2006, March 9th) Negative Perception of Islam Increasing: Poll Numbers in U.S. Higher Than in 2001. Retrieved from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/08/AR2006 030802221.html

Smith, Jack A. (2010, August 27th) The Muslim Mosque at Ground Zero and Freedom of Religion in America. Retrieved from: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=20788

The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.(2010, August 24th) Public Remains Conflicted Over Islam: NYC Mosque Opposed, Muslims’ Right to Build Mosque Favored. Retrieved from: http://people-press.org/report/647/
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