Writing about bomb shelters last month got me thinking about 9/11 and how it changed the definition of war forever. Looking back on the aftermath of that day, the pre-9/11 idea of having “rules” for when it’s permissible to kill your fellow man may seem quaint, but in the current world, everybody and everything is a possible target, and chaos rules. Is the current rise of authoritarianism and nationalism throughout the world a reaction to, and a misguided attempt to control the chaos?
9/11 changed my world forever. Every morning, right before I read the news, a sense of dread overcomes me, wondering what new atrocities have occurred while I was asleep. I have felt a palpable unease ever since that day, when the world started its turn away from humanity.