SCHENECTADY — Jared Hawkins, a 23-year-old social welfare examiner at the Schenectady County Department of Social Services, was born almost two years after the 9/11 attacks.
Hawkins was not alive to witness the tragic events that forever changed our country and the subsequent coming together to rebuild. He was not watching the news unfold or witnessing it firsthand as many Americans did.
For those born close to or after 2001, like Hawkins, the toll of 9/11 is not forgotten, but it may not bear the same weight as it does for those who were old enough to remember the events.
“I feel like everybody knows what they were doing on Sept. 11th, but for me it’s something you weren’t even alive for,” said Hawkins.
Although Hawkins’ family was not directly impacted by 9/11, they felt the pain and shock of that tragic day. His parents and older sister can recall the attacks only three hours from their home in the Capital Region.
An entire generation has grown up with the war on terrorism as a backdrop for society. Increased airport security is the norm, and they don’t know a world where body scans and multiple checkpoints were less commonplace. Our post-9/11 country is all they know.
During his senior year of college, Hawkins took a class about mass violence and terrorism in which he completed a project on 9/11. He presented the attacks through a two-decade-old lens and found it interesting that an event so significant to an older generation is now a topic of study for his.
“25 years sounds so long ago, but in reality, it wasn’t,” he said.
Hawkins worries the importance of remembering 9/11could be slipping away from his generation and those younger. Each year, he sees fewer posts commemorating 9/11 on social media from people in his age group.
While younger generations can learn about the attacks and understand the impact, it still can be difficult to fully relate to those who experienced them. Hawkins believes continuing to learn about the attacks and educating one other about all that changed across the country will help ensure they are never forgotten.
— Alexandra Whitbeck