In his book "The World Without Us", author Alan Weisman considers how the natural world would be without the influence of humans. Our huge infrastructure would collapse and eventually vanish. Everyday items would be cemented into fossils. Some of the most long-lasting things would be bronze statues, plastics, man-made molecules, and radio waves. After a long time of physical and chemical weathering, our material world would break down and vanish.
Post-apocalyptic books, movies, and shows are really interesting to me because they look at all the possible outcomes of a major, destructive event. They also explore human psychology, how people would deal with an event like this.
Though the world did not end after the al-Qaeda attacks on September 11th, it sure halted. At the time, it seemed like things could get worse and worse. Thankfully, the attacks halted, national security has been a priority, and victims' families may have a little peace in knowing that Osama Bin Laden had died. Yet al-Qaeda terrorism will continue to affect how we live, including our suspicions of Muslim people in particular. With two wars continuing, American politics is getting more polarized. While at the time people came together in patriotism and empathy for the victims, we are still divided in politics and openness of other cultures. Some of these attitudes and suspicions are like plastic, and will remain for quite awhile unless another major event takes place that brings us together.
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