Which news worthy events do you remember from your lifetime?

For my father, the three most noteworthy events that instantly come to mind are the assassination of Prime Minister Indria Gandhi of India in 1984, the September 11th attack on the world trade center, and the tsunami in 2004 in the Indian Ocean. To him, the assassination of Prime Minister Gandhi in 1984 and the riots that followed it were a stark revelation the religious separatist movement in India that led to the loss of several innocent Sikh lives. He remembers this event as a representation of the division of even the strongest of all democracies based on religious differences. Since then the political scene in India has seen a dramatic change and eventually has brought Dr. Manmohan Singh, a Sikh Prime Minister, to the forefront which my father considers reparation for the religious created in the wake of Prime Minister Gandhi’s death. The September 11th attack on the World Trade Center to my father marks the turning point in how Americans and others around the world live their life today. He remembers this event because believes it has changed the way we travel, think, and perceive others. This event is also close to my father’s heart because of the loss of innocent Americans lives at the hands of religious fanatics. Unfortunately, it has created a divide in the world community on religious grounds. Finally, the tsunami in the Indian Ocean represents a natural disaster that affected the psyche of the entire world. This was important to him and he remembers this because there were thousands of innocent lives lost at the hands something that cannot be controlled. In retrospect, he feels that the loss of human life and the negative economic impact on the affected countries could have been prevented using seismologic prediction of this natural disaster.


In my opinion, the three events that I am most moved by are the September 11th attacks, Hurricane Katrina, and the election of President Barrack Obama. Even at eight years of age, the September 11th attacks were overwhelming and important because of the extent of the damage it had on the United States. This event left an indelible image of the horror that American citizens faced at the hands of terrorists, and in retrospect, this event has impacted every Americans life. Hurricane Katrina was an event that left an everlasting effect on me, and I remember it because while I watched the destruction unravel, I felt helpless when others suffered. To me, it is a significant event that still affects the psyche of the United States and its citizens, prompting more preparedness of the emergency response teams at the state and federal levels. Today, as I watch TV events memorializing the 5th anniversary of this event, I am reminded of the gravity of this disaster. Barrack Obama’s election as President of the United States is also an event that still resonates in me, and I feel that is one of the most important events that has happened in U.S. history. I remember his inauguration and the events that surrounded very well, as if celebrating a new era of racial unity in the United States. This newsworthy event was a great milestone as a minority in the American society and was a reinforcement of the strength of the “American Dream”.