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I don’t think there is a life in New York that wasn’t touched by 9/11. Even if it wasn’t personal, a sense of safety and security was diminished. Even though I myself don’t remember much from before 9/11, I do know that the airport wasn’t so ridiculously difficult to get into and you stare at the skyline without feeling like something is missing.

While I don’t think perceptions of New York were changed, New Yorkers themselves were changed. We were (and still are) proud people, but our ability to feel safe in the city we lived and worked in was diminished. Outsiders were too scared to come here and for a while New Yorkers were stunned. The event that occurred was literally unthinkable, especially because we all thought it was an accident at first. I remember sitting in my classroom feeling horribly jealous of all the kids that got to go home. My third grader mind didn’t register the fact that if more than half of my class had left that something terrible must have happened. I was ecstatic when my mom finally picked me up, but once I saw her face I knew I shouldn’t show my joy. The one thing I remember more than anything was watching the news when I got home. Some may think it was wrong for my mom to let me watch the news, but looking back on it I’m glad she did. It isn’t like the tragedy traumatized me, but it let me know that the world wasn’t a utopia and things could go wrong. The most destructive factor about nine eleven, besides the lives lost, is the loss of feeling safe. Obviously though, New York has built itself back up. It continues to be a center for commerce and tourism for people all over the world.

In all honesty, I do think that art can accurately portray the events that occurred on 9/11. Works like Fahrenheit 9/11 and The Mercy Seat hit home when it comes to the event that they surround their work with. Although Fahrenheit 9/11 used the tragedy to display why Bush was a horrible president, it still showed the importance of the event and the severity of it. The Mercy Seat took a more personal route. I love the fact that it took a point of view that more than always would never be considered at the time of a seriously devastating event. Art tends to get every angle of an event or an idea. 9/11 was such a huge event that so many artists can take their vision and portray it right. The Mercy Seat made us stop and think, Fahrenheit 9/11 made us angry and the peace quilts touched a soft spot in our hearts. All three separate works of art evoked different feelings in us for the very same event. To me, this is valid proof that art can truly portray 9/11 and the events that happened that day.