What if 9/11 never occured?

An assignment that we were assigned for our history class was to propose an event in history that, if it had gone another way, would have been impactful. We also had the option to choose an event that could have changed history in a huge way if it were to have never happened.

I chose to investigate what would be different if 9/11 never occured. It is quite obvious that our present would be drastically different than it is right now, but in what ways? One significant difference would be the laws passed in response to the acts of terrorism that acted during 9/11. Some people may believe that these laws invade their personal privacy. One law that is under this accusation is the USA Patriot Act. "In October 2001, Congress (...) passed the USA Patriot Act. The measure gave law enforcement officials sweeping new powers to conduct searches without warrants, monitor financial transactions and eavesdrop, and detain and deport, in secret, individuals suspected of committing terrorist acts." (Rowen) Even if they are only used against individuals suspected of committing terrorist acts, the United States government can manipulate the law into allowing it to be used in other cases. If 9/11 never happened, some people wouldn't feel this distress from their own country. Another significant difference would be the vulnerability of a worse terrorist attack. Giving law enforcement officials the power to do all the things that the USA Patriot Act and other laws allow them to do does seem like an attack on the average american's privacy, but with this power, the United States would be able to prevent future terrorist attacks if not already. If 9/11 never occurred, laws like the USA Patriot Act would have never been passed which would have left the United States vulnerable to even worse terrorist attacks on United States soil. It is quite unimaginable to think of an attack on American soil that was worse than 9/11, but it would have been more likely to happen if 9/11 never occurred.

Works Citied

Rowen, Beth. "Post-9/11 Changes By the U.S. Government." Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.