What was the U.S.A. like before 9/11?

Originally posted by txinfidel
Cell phones were uncommon. The economy was good. We used payphones and telephone books. People minded their own business. Gas used to be as low as a dollar per gallon ciggarettes were $2 a pack. People were nice and easy to get along with. I could go on. Ironically i was having a hard time finding work and accepted a job as a mortgage broker that very same day. It did not go over so well.

I miss those days, where not every single person had a cell phone. Leaving the house without a phone, and waiting to get back home to check messages was better. I remember what it was like to go to a movie without everyone on their phones talking or texting. It was nice. I also miss the days before the internet and a computer in everyone's home. It was more peaceful. I went to the library for all my books. I kind of miss the peace of those days.

I remember when kids wanted to go outside to play and didn't care to sit in front of a video console all day long. I literally lived outside as a kid, because we didn't have game systems, internet, and cell phones. I wish my daughter would know what that is to grow up like this. Life was good. Now, no one is patient. No one wants to wait for anything and everything has to be instant. I remember when we didn't even have a VCR and before video stores. I'm 46 years old, a child of the 70's and 80's.

You know what, I dont remember exactly.

removed my initial post.

Originally posted by IratePotatoes
What was the U.S.A. like before 9/11?

Pretty much the same as it is now, but not quite as irritating.

reply to post by IratePotatoes


Gas was consistently below $2/gal.

The biggest stories typically were about a cigar and an intern

The cell phone industry hadn't really marketed texting, and there was no such thing as digital service

The internet was a wasteland of Comic Sans, Monotype Corsiva, and garish colors

There was no streaming video

The economy was on fire, blowing the bubbles that got us here today

US Policy focused on domestic policy. Things like NAFTA mattered to folks

We weren't paranoid about the southern border

Political discourse was mostly limited to watching pundits talk on TV. There was no highly developed internet, and the internet population had not reached the great unwashed masses like today. So the common persons voice was relatiely unheard and there was consequently far less bickering and hate

The only way I can think to explain life before 9/11 is to compare it to a major earthquake. We had several warnings of what was to come. The first WTC bombing, Waco, Oklahoma City bombing, etc. Kind of like fore shocks before an earthquake. Although like a true eathquake - no one knew that they were warnings to the big one. (9/11).

When 9/11 happened it was a huge jolt like a major earthquake. The landscape of America had changed in a day.
We became more paranoid & afraid. (Well at least I did.). Security, police forces, troops, etc were everywhere instantly. Things you never thought of as being dangerous now gave you pause.

Before 9/11 it was like having a bunch of nightmares only to find out one came true. We became afraid of all of our nightmares coming true. Fear & paranoia then ruled the day.

What was it like?

The biggest difference I see now is that there is a lot more fear.

The terrorists won that day. (or the government if you believe that.)

Before 9/11, people were a lot more trusting. There weren't cameras everywhere except in stores for shoplifters. Now you can see cameras pointing down from the top of tall buildings downtown. They've been there for years. Before 9/11, Madonna was considered extreme and radical for her "baring" costumes. You didn't have quite so much radicalization of either the left or the right for when 9/11 happened, it shook the faith of a good chunk of the nation and in despair, many turned to God. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Newton's law. So on one hand, there were more Christian fundamentalists with extreme views and on the other hand, we had some respond with "pushing the envelope" even further and further til we ended up with Lady Gaga (she's NOT a lady and I mean that figuratively--not a reference to possibly being a hermaphrodite). Radicalization of the left, radicalization of the right--fewer in between though I think we're balancing back out now. Miniature religious battles within the states began with atheism and science on one side and religion and faith on the other. Profs started getting beaten for teaching evolutionary theory but we've chilled from that, I think. Newton's law again so push back was calling into question the constitutionality of things like "In God We Trust" and the presence of the Ten Commandments in front of court houses. You bet that all had a start with 9/11. You can't have an event that shakes people to the core without having a drastic affect on everything and that's precisely what 9/11 did. More hatred and fear. I swear we're a nation filled with adults with mild PTSD because so many watched the plane strike the towers, watched people jump from the buildings and then, the buildings came tumbling down. I didn't as I had just moved and my tv hadn't arrived yet. All I had was IRC and I was in #USA on gamesnet as I watched the emotions, anger, fear, and shock sweep through the thousands that had congregated there. War, radicalization, and economic effects were all plain as day as our future on 9/11/2001. Signs of it were in everybody's words.

What hasn't changed? Seriously the 9-11 attacks changed our reality in so many ways that it it hard to fathom what this Country was like before. We went from being invincible and having a well functioning economy to a spy state where everything you do is monitored and saved on a supercomputer in some bomb proof holding building. I knew it that day (Sept 11th 2001.) it was emotional seeing the buildings fall as you knew there was a tremendous loss of life. What bothered me more was I was sure that my whole way of life...my whole reality was about to change. I want to say Sept 11th was the day the US lost its innocence. The Country slowly slipped into the Country we were told in elementary school we would never become. We became the aggressors. We started not trusting our neighbors. We started getting tracked and spied upon. If you disagreed with Bush policy you were considered a terrorist or sympathizer. We actively started torturing people. We suspended the rights guarenteed in the Constitution. We can be held without charge. No trial. No jury of your peers. You can be held indefinitely if you get charged in a certain way.


I feel Sept 11th was the single biggest defining moment in my lifetime. I think it changed every aspect of life in the United States.

Originally posted by tridentblue
reply to post by IratePotatoes

 

There was a lot more freedom, a lot more privacy. What happened is the tech emerged to know a lot more about people, and that's the world you've grown up in, one where people are more connected and know more about each other, even strangers, than before.

Don't forget about the part where people's friends are strangers. I see you mentioned that, though. A lot more fear now. Less trust.

So O.p. can you remember the one thing that I miss the most? That is the ability to be with someone in person and actually focus on each other.

Democrats were anti war, pro environment. We valued our natural resources instead of considering it as another potential fracking well. Privacy was considered a right that was defended by both sides of the isle. The media reported the news instead of fear mongering. People could peacefully assemble without being placed on the terrorist watch list. Dissent was patriotic, and whistle blowers were encouraged to expose corruption. Presidents were impeachable, teachers were well paid, unions had strength, the elderly could retire, and most people could make a living wage if they worked hard enough. People would not report their neighbors every time they walked down the street with a crock pot, patriot wasn't a bad word, and Orwellian doublespeak was unheard of. Kids used to play outside, people would talk to their neighbors, often entire neighborhoods would get together and have cookouts. Pre 9/11 was a different world IMO.

I wish,

9/11 just woke some from their slumber.


Its been the same game just the teams keep changing uniforms.


Edit: I'm not even a US citizen or Illegal, so I cannot really comment only provide a bit of humor as I read your title question and that song just popped into my head.

Fair point, but our society was different, It wasn't perfect but it's far worse than it was back then.

reply to post by IratePotatoes


it was freakin awesome!, all you really had to worry about was getting robbed or jumped by the gayster thugs from around the block or getting kidnapped by the zodiac killer in a "white van". But besides all that no one really cared. Things were affordable, people weren't so biggoted, streets weren't so full of cars and it was easier to get a job or to get anything. period.

reply to post by IratePotatoes



this should give you a good idea

Before 9/11...

It felt like there was nothing stopping us. The economy was on a boom in the 90s, and we were constantly moving higher. As I look back, it wasn't completely sunshine and roses, but it was different. People weren't afraid. We weren't so scared of our shadows, and it was a good time.

The youth today don't or can't remember how it was before, but there were good times...

In my opinion there is no real difference. Maybe it's because a lot of the new laws and events don't affect the way I have been living most of my life. The world seem to be more peaceful. A lot of the pop music reflected how people wanted to come together and help the world. Which was highly popular. Like We are the world songs or pop songs that talked about peace.


President was the perfect president to represent the 1990's. He was young and represented the future generation of Americans. Love him or hate him you cannon deny he had more ups then downs.

American entertainment did have more characters who seemed to more athletic. Cartoons like Rocket Power encouraged children to become more athletic. Mighty Morphing Power Rangers specialized in martial arts. It seemed to be a celebrity you did something great. Today it seems you can become famous and loved for the dumbest things. People celebrate their obesity without thinking about any of the negatives. A lot of people who want to make a society a better place are usually looked at in a negative light. Where someone who has gotten pregnant at a young age and doesn't care becomes an instant celebrity.

I can go on and on. Like today the pre-9/11 days had a lot of pros and cons. As an American many still take a lot for granted that everything is perfect and it will never end. Just my two cents.

reply to post by Phoenix267


It must be nice to come out of it without any trouble. Most people like me watched our entire livelihoods wiped away. And many people I know who attempted to stand up to the financial tyranny had the living s*** kicked out of them by the police, and now get harassed daily by the FBI. You should consider yourself very lucky you are not in the gutter. I basically spend most of my time working for free these days in hopes of building a strong self sufficient community. I do not have security in my future and many people I know are completely downtrodden.

reply to post by consensusfarmer


That's the same thing for me and my family. The economy has taken a tumble because of how the economy changes. In our capitalist society it would not last forever. My family is on welfare and their only way to survive is to get whatever programs are available. It sucks to have a mother who is a house wife and father who is a hard working floor installer that worked hours on end for nothing really. I'm thankful to be alive today, but I'm not happy that my family wants to be a team but doesn't have any real ambition. We are in the gutter with a lot of problems. You have to spend time in someones shoes to judge them. A lot of people have it hard because they never prepared for any drastic change. I know it feels horrible because you have nothing real.

I was basically forced to create my own systems of support, me and some friends built an urban farm, and created a consensus based corporation to buy and renovate abandoned properties in Baltimore. So far I feel lucky, I used to work in the industrial complex, now my job is to help people as much as possible. We have created a network of reclaimed produce we use to feed our neighborhood and ourselves, and it seems like our idea might have long term viability. That being said I have cleaned up mountains of construction debris and used heroin needles. I have had to scrape at the abused landscape of my city just to barely survive. Although I would consider myself more relaxed and happy these days.

Originally posted by Nevertheless
reply to post by IratePotatoes

 

Before 9/11 people thought that Afghanistan was a made-up word, and that iRaq and iRan were accessories to the iPod, the first being an holder for the car, the second an excercise tracking app.

Seeing as the iPod wasn't released until November, 2001, your joke falls flatter than Angelina Jolie.

In response to the OP, America was the same as it is today, with fewer people whining about long lines at the airport and drone usage by the military.