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No matter who you are, at least one person you know was affected 20 years ago, on September 11, 2001. Our teammates at Super Purposes are no exception.
Heather Gilmer, our Senior Comedy Content Writer, reflects on what she felt at the time, “Being a young kid in third grade, I didn’t know what ‘terrorism’ meant, but I knew something terrible had happened by the distraught look on everyone’s faces.”
9/11 left many Americans filled with memories of panic and confusion from the tragic events. That day, the Twin Towers’ destruction led to immediate changes to our country’s economy and way of life.
For example, in Lower Manhattan, 18,000 small businesses closed during the chaos. That closure made way for people to work remotely. Thus, the first wave of Digital Nomads, like our Founder & CEO, Super Julie Braun, was born. “We were glued to our televisions for days on end, crying about the loss of lives. We didn’t know that 9/11 would usher in so many changes in the way we work today. Telecommuting was one of the first assets we saw come from that tragic time,” stated Braun.
However, every American came together and stood as one in the wake of this devastating event.
After the events of September 11th, to say the country was in a sorry state of affairs is a massive understatement. The effects of 9/11 on the US are numerous. Some of them include:
During these challenging times, many working-class Americans found ways to sort through their trauma.
Americans rallied together to grieve their losses. Mass tributes in New York City’s Union Park, Chicago’s Daley Plaza, and Honolulu’s Waikiki Beach reassured Americans. Heartfelt speeches at the rallies filled everyone’s hearts with love and compassion. Americans’ efforts to heal from the cataclysmic losses from that day manifested in other ways. Our YouTube Specialist and military veteran Jeremy Morrison said, “It felt like a time where everybody could come together. We never felt more united.”
People waited in long lines to donate blood to the Red Cross to support the victims of the attacks. Amazon raised $3 million to give to the Red Cross in only three days. They did this by providing customers the option to donate money to their website.
An 8-foot pear tree was recovered from the rubble of the World Trade Center in 2001. It was replanted onto the site in 2010 and dubbed as the “Survivor Tree”.
The National September 11 Memorial and Museum opened to the public in 2014. The names of more than 2,000 people are inscribed in bronze near the memorial pools.
In 2019, a memorial glade opened on the southwest side of the museum. The path is to honor first responders at the site who later died after inhaling toxic fumes.
The world has changed in many ways since then. Americans have gone through more disastrous upheavals. Like 9/11, these events have left Americans hurt, disoriented, and confused.
We have gone through two major economic depressions and three different presidencies. Americans also faced severe droughts in the west and hurricanes on the east coast. The COVID pandemic has also changed the way we communicate with each other. It can be hard to comprehend when you think about it for too long.
In the years that followed, these crises have caused us to find ways to work from home. Then, in the 2010s, FaceTime and Zoom were launched. People can now have face-to-face conversations in a digital environment. Several digital nomads are now relying on these apps to complete work for their jobs.
We may keep more focus on virtual meetings or classes to attend, but we can’t forget to keep in touch with reality. Visiting memorials and honoring the Americans that have passed away is important too. We must always remember to show compassion and empathy in the worst of times. Thank you for reading, and be sure to check out more blogs like this on our website!
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