The Day the World Changed
How this state of emergency will define a generation
It was just like any other day in September. Nothing was out of place. The weather in the UK was on the turn, and the summer had upped and packed its bags and headed south. Children sulked to school as their parents sighed with relief, looking forward to some respite.
Everything was running like clockwork right up until 1.45 pm GMT. The shockwaves from Manhattan skimmed across the Atlantic Ocean as the awful news started to filter through. Time seemed to stop still as people watched on in horror as one of the most iconic buildings bellowed with smoke and tragically fell.
September 11th 2001 was unlike any other day in living memory. The world had changed, and nothing would be the same again.
Nearly twenty years have passed, but it’s echo still reverts around our lives. More than that, the repercussions of this incident live on. As a result, the threat of terrorism and those wanting to do people harm are now hard-wired into our psyche. This constant worry and unease of the world will remain with us for the foreseeable future.
9/11 defined a generation.
The world changed into a more isolated society. Fear got the better of us, and as a result, the world is the way it is today. With the COVID 19 outbreak, things have shifted once more, to a degree none of us ever thought was imaginable. Countries closing their borders and entire economic powers brought down to their knees. Death rates spiralling out of control and people isolated from their loved ones, forced to stare worryingly out of their windows.
Despite the hardships and torment, people are going through, we as a species need to learn the lessons of the past and accept that things will not go back to the way they were. We cannot return to a time before this outbreak started.
“Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” — George Santayana
For the first time in a long time, people have had the chance to sit down and reflect on their lives and the direction of travel we have embarked upon. In a fast-paced world, this is not always possible. Our blinkered way of going about things has created a society where people in power find it all too easy to pull the wool over our eyes. Those who have quarantined will reflect and see life from a different perspective.
I am hopeful people will stop sleepwalking through life, and this terrible disease has woke people out of their constant daydream. Awareness of the environment, world leaders and our actions serves as a glimmer of hope that twinkles along the horizon.
However, the biggest wake-up call comes in the way countries treat their healthcare systems. Why does it take a pandemic for states to pool their knowledge and resources to achieve something of meaning?
After spending trillions of dollars on military muscle year in year out no amount of planes, tanks or missiles will help keep us safe from this pandemic. In this war, the enemy we are fighting is not an old foe or a tyrant hell-bent on wanton destruction. Like it or lump it, for the first time in an extended period, the 7 billion odd people living on this rock have a common goal: To defeat this virus and survive.
“When we do once again venture out to the streets and the lockdown begins to end, we will find the havoc wreaked by a war without bombs.” — Prime Minister Sánchez
There is a bumpy road ahead, and this ‘new normality’ will take some getting used to. Our most significant and most potent asset is we humans adapt and adapt quickly. It won’t be pretty, and there will be more sacrifices further down the line, but we will come through the other side much better for it.
When this is over, those old enough to make a difference will need to take the responsibility upon themselves to plant the seeds of tomorrow.
“It was in this tangent he hoped that for one time in humanity’s lousy existence, the chain linking the past and future would snap in two. Instead of blaming the generation that came before, the young would instead be in admiration of their forefather’s achievements, having left the planet in a far better condition than the one they inherited.” — The Forgotten Fruit, Dean Middleburgh
The younger generation is the future, and even though they might not be fully aware of what is going on today, they are watching the world and following our lead. Children will remember this time, and it will define them as other incidents in history have defined us.
It was just like any other day in December. Nothing was out of place in Wuhan, a city not many people knew existed.
Dean Middleburgh is a writer that has had the good fortune to write for P.S. I love you, The Junction, Invisible Illness, ILLUMINATION, The New North and Storymaker. If you liked this piece check out one of my others below:
