Brandon Chicotsky

What 9/11 means for ‘Generation 9/11’…

With the passing of the anniversary of September, 11^th, 2001, I look at my generation and consider 9/11’s impact. The children of the Baby Boomers amount to roughly 76 million Americans, and we are often termed Generation Y, Echo Boomers, or Millennials. I assign a different term to the babies of the 70s, 80s, and 90s in America that represents a new age of communication technology, geopolitical competency, and media influences. We are ‘Generation 9/11’.

I first heard mention of the term, ‘Generation 9/11’, in our nation’s capital. Ambassador Dennis Ross, who is special adviser for the Persian Gulf and Southwest Asia to Secretary of State Clinton, was giving a lecture about the rise of genocidal rhetoric from national and religious leaders who institute Islamic Wahhabism and Islamic Sharia law.

Communication technology usage throughout the world was detailed as a concern by Ambassador Ross during his lecture. He considered American media as a demonstration of liberal democracy exercising a right to free press, which creates news-feeds and ideas that are varied, topically vast, and diverse. Conversely, Ross warned, Middle East Petro-states (governments with nationalized oil industry) like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Syria are propagating dangerously controlled and consistent messaging to Generation 9/11. Ross suggests many of these ideas are threats to civil liberties and reach the 48 Muslim-majority nations, which creates an alarming market of interest abroad.

Interconnected media technology puts this controlled and pointed messaging from Middle East Petro-states in direct contention with liberal-western ideas. From my experiences in the Middle East, I believe western culture and ideas are more compelling than its competition. While I foresee the dangers of Islamic Wahhabism, Islamic Sharia law, and any non-secular society under military doctrine, western media’s impact on Middle East society is apparent.

I remember Egypt’s suburban houses were lined with satellite dishes. American wrestling was a huge fad in Egypt, as was Baywatch - a cleavage-inspired 90’s sitcom. Even if the west begins to lose its battle in the market of political ideas, it will not lose the battle for cultural influence through new media technology.  

Generation 9/11 contains the last remaining demographic of Americans who lived, at some point, without the common use of a cell phone and social media. Interface application systems like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube were first introduced during our young adulthood, and were mostly developed by members of my generation. Traditional media, like television news, has evolved to fit an aging and older viewership, while internet news media appeals more to Generation 9/11.

Some traditional television news media are making attempts to showcase younger anchors who use modern colloquialisms. D.T. Mindich, an author on generational interest in news media, points out that such efforts are failing to recruit young viewers. One of every four Baby Boomers regularly watches a television news segment, while the younger generation polled at one of every seven.

Generation 9/11’s inundation of internet applications has developed an intuitive usage and research capability, which satisfies many needs once sought from television news. Almost all of my peers can identify, locate, research, and gossip-feed any topic of interest, including worldly news involving national, military, or economic conflicts. Internet informational access is one general, defining attribute of Generation 9/11. Another notable attribute is a looming economic burden.

In Thomas Friedman’s, The World is Flat, he argues interconnected economies and blending cultural influences ultimately deter nation-states from warring. Friedman provides sound arguments for globalization that include checks and balances and accountability systems focusing on human rights. David Smick in his book, The World is Curved, offers a rebuttal to this interconnected theory that not only challenges Friedman’s idea that globalization creates passive nations, it maps out an economic imperative for Generation 9/11.

When I read Friedman’s argument, I was a full-time undergraduate student with minimal tax payments and expenses. At that time, ideas were my currency and Friedman’s ideas were satisfying. Several years later, as a business owner, I involved myself in Smick’s writing while basing my work out of Houston, Texas - the energy trading capital of the west. I could sense the changing dynamic of America’s economy. The mortgage crises had just hit, America’s national debt was accelerating, and competing nations were fueling proxy wars against American military positions abroad, which influenced the oil market.

By learning more about the energy sector, I realized nation-states will never cease in competition. Smick correctly argues that nations like China and Russia, regardless of their government’s dedication to human rights, are empowered by globalization and may ultimately reposition western economies and military security in a dangerously compromising position.

Friedman’s hopes that globalization will create an economic equilibrium in the world may seem noble to many, but I do not believe such a development will benefit Generation 9/11. No matter how badly my generation wants peaceful and passive nations through economic interdependence, America’s Generation 9/11 may be the antithesis of another nation’s Generation 9/11 residing in west or east Asia.

I believe Smick is on to something when he suggests America should remain competitive and the world’s economic leader, and maintain this priority with intense commitment. This endorsement does not come with a blanket free-market advocacy. America must maintain mechanisms for checks and balances, rule of law, and protections of property. Setting such governmental precedents establishes efficiency, dependability, and durability for the private sector.

Generation 9/11 is now facing more private sector regulatory reforms, government capital injections, and national debt than any period in American history. We must focus creative energy on maintaining our nation’s wealth and monetary strength. If my generation does not address America’s economic challenges with intensity and long-term vision, more citizens will perish through malnourishment and poverty than the many Americans who suffered on 9/11 in 2001.

Along with economic challenges and media technology usage, Generation 9/11 is defined by an unique geopolitical competency. The Baby Boomers’ political maturation during Vietnam popularized dissent and skepticism of leadership. Civil liberties were expanded to minority communities and worldly thinking became more common. Vietnam spurred interest into the differentiations between communism and democracy and drew new meaning of covert and overt warfare. Also, American weapons manufacturers began to feel pressure from an inquiring public about state sponsored contracts using tax payer dollars. All of these developments were in some way present after 9/11. Like before, skepticism led to a questioning of war motives, private sector influences, media involvement, and conspiracy. However, none of these developments had the fervor and mass involvement that defined political activity from the Baby Boomers.

Generation 9/11 has generated a noticeably large conspiracy community. The Bush Administration’s initial reticence to commission a 9/11 investigation committee exacerbated skepticism among a niche intellectual community, which grew on college campuses in the form of organizations seeking thorough review of 9/11’s causes, course of events, and government-media relations. President John F. Kennedy’s assassination frenzy has parallels to this new form of protest and recall. Nevertheless, this young, niche community of skeptics have failed to popularize their political efforts and intentions to a broader market of interest.

Without a popular movement for protest, the 9/11 conspiracy community is increasingly marginalized, but their numbers are large enough to gain attention. College campuses today are flooded with political activist communities, which often include mainstream Party politics, anti-Israel sympathizers, human rights awareness efforts, or campaigns to debunk America’s government and military justifications for 9/11. Recent debates involving immigration reform, college subsidies, and global warming also have thriving activist organizations on college campuses, and these issues may remain in heated debate for decades. All the while, Generation 9/11 will be defined by an unfocused sense of purpose, political competency, and protest in the wake of America’s tragedy in 2001.

I represent the youngest American population of competent political minds when 9/11 occurred. This means, as teenagers, we can remember where we stood, what we thought, and the complex questions that formulated about our government and military during the event’s fallout. Now in our 20s and 30s, our consumer behavior, political orientations, and career objectives can be linked to the dynamic military, political, and cultural developments surrounding the historical event.

As Generation 9/11 defines the new age of media, technology, and political engagement, we face enormous economic challenges. We will shoulder unprecedented national debt and grapple with the effects of globalization. These challenges, however, will not prevent my generation from defining a new age of technology and social media. Generation 9/11 has access to more ideas and information than any generation that has come before. With this access, we will embody innovation.

It’s my hope 2001’s tragedy will serve as Generation 9/11’s motivation to protect our nation’s civil liberties and critically review our military campaigns without losing national purpose. Along with military security, economic security must be considered by Generation 9/11. We have the components needed to increase our nation’s wealth and strengthen America’s private sector. We must continue to drive the economy forward with innovation, entrepreneurship, and an active labor force. Whether or not we excel in this effort, the market influence of Generation 9/11 cannot be ignored.

-Brandon Chicotsky