Nine Eleven. Ten years ago these words would be nothing more than an unfunny parody of 7-Eleven or an unusual pronunciation of our national emergency phone number. Two days later, it would not only mark the date of the largest terror attack on America, but would also denote a major turning point in American politics, culture and thinking.

I’m sure we can all remember the date quite well. As for myself, I was sitting in my fifth grade classroom amongst others from the generation for whom this day would be their defining moment. It was picture day.

The crackle of the loudspeaker brought the classroom to a hush and we all instinctively turned toward it as though we had to face the faceless voice of our school principal. There was no attempt to hide the truth. We were told that a plane had crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center.

Later, we would learn that a plane hit the second tower as well.

Oddly enough, the school day went on as normally as it could. We were escorted to our awaited picture and smiled at the camera in our naivety. It’s a tad ironic looking at the picture of smiling children and then looking down at the date, realizing the atrocities that were happening simultaneously.

I came home to my mom watching the news that has enthralled ever since that day. She assured me that my dad was OK, as he worked in the city at the time, and I joined her in watching the event that brought America into a modern Dark Ages.

I don’t mean any offense to anyone who faced personal loss and suffering due to the attacks, but 9/11 has caused America to regress as its people have fallen victim to fear-mongering, hate and sheer ignorance.

Both Republicans and Democrats alike were blinded by nationalism. Six weeks after the attacks the Patriot Act went into effect. Making it easier to wiretap and search a person’s home and personal information without paperwork or notification, this flagrant attack on civil liberties went by without much question.

“It’ll protect us from terrorism,” we thought.

The funny thing is, according to New York Magazine’s Benjamin Wallace-Well’s article simply titled “Patriot Act,” delayed-notice search warrants under the act have been issued more for cases of drugs and fraud than they have been issued in cases of suspected terrorism by a huge margin.

The word “patriot” is so haphazardly thrown around these days that just saying it leaves a disgusting taste in my mouth. It is juxtaposed with anything “un-American” or “Socialist.” Those two words are now nothing more than slurs that Conservatives use against anyone with whom they disagree.

The fact that Bill O’Reilly can go on the air and decide whether people are “Pinheads” or “Patriots,” as though the two things are opposites, is disgusting. In fact, being blindly patriotic to one’s country, no matter the problems, is the most pinheaded thing one can do.

But it doesn’t stop there. Apparently, in order to be American, you need to believe in trickle-down economics and let the super rich get by with lower tax rates than some people in poverty have. What scares me the most is it seems that these selfish, hateful, fear-mongering mockeries of the American political system are on their way to fight for the presidency.

It’s time to take a serious look at where we’ve come in these past 10 years and free ourselves from this fear-induced economic and social regression before those who are so much more American than me, do some serious damage.