The Ongoing Search For Closure And Answers, 20 Years After 9/11

This is how victims families' see things now, and how our country has changed.

View this email online by Christopher Dean Hopkins It's been 20 years since four planes dove out of clear skies and smashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, killing nearly 3,000 people. What's followed has been two decades of grief, of transformation and of searching for answers. This is how victims families' see things now, and how our country has changed. NPR Among the artifacts from Sept. 11 are the hundreds of voicemails left that day by those who'd never be heard from again. NPR set up an old phone booth in Brooklyn Bridge Park — across the river from the new World Trade Center — and invited people to leave their own voicemails for the loved ones they lost that day. Mourning has been particularly complicated for those still waiting for remains to be identified, or for the children who never really knew the parent they lost. "We don't have memories to get to think about," says the daughter of one of the pilots killed. "We just have to think about what we didn't have." Sept. 11 had a surprising impact on the Akwesasne Mohawk reservation near Massena, N.Y. Ironworkers from that community have built New York City’s skyscrapers for generations, including the World Trade Center. They were also among the first to race to Ground Zero to help move heavy debris. Newsletter continues after sponsor message Tim Lambert The first time reporter Tim Lambert returned to his family's land, in October 2001, it stil reeked of jet fuel and bore a dusting of airplane debris. In the decades since, he's seen it heal and transform — and watched as the families that visit the land in Shanksville, Pa., have adapted and changed too. Read his story or listen to it.   Hai Do/AFP/GettyImages In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks came the questions. Why did this happen? How could we let it? WNYC's Blindspot podcast brings to light the decade-long struggle with extremists that preceded the attacks — and the opportunities to stop them that authorities missed. Three new books offer other sobering lessons we can take away from the attacks and what came next, including the quagmires and opportunity costs of the government's resource-intensive war on terror.   Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images Many aspects of American life have changed in the 20 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. For one, police — even small departments far from urban centers — have much more military equipment now. Anti-terror grants gave local departments the means to buy M-16s, armored personnel carriers and more. Those have ended up used for everyday policing duties, which can lead to officers acting and thinking more like soldiers, and to fractures in the trust between authorities and communities. For Muslim-Americans, Sept. 11 has meant two decades of increased scrutiny and higher risk of hate crimes. Three experts from the community broke down for 1A what changes still need to happen. As we've gotten more distance from the attacks, teachers have been tackling how to explain them to kids born years after they happened. Educators offer tips for how to talk about that day with children young enough to see it as just another part of history. There are a lot of helpful children's books out there, too. Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WUFT 89.1 (edit station). Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Daily News, Politics, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Best of NPR emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy