This month, we discussed “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” by Moshin Hamid.  The book focused around a central event and turning point in the book, the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center buildings.  Growing up a mere forty-five minutes away from downtown New York, I had a very personal connection to this event.  As I was still very young, I don’t remember the event itself as much as I remember the aftermath.  I lived in the United States post-911 for around six years.  I obviously had no understanding of what had happened, but I remember my mother telling me that some of the people in the small town of Old Greenwich, Connecticut, were no longer living there (they had died in the towers).  There were memorial sites all around town with the faces of the victims.  In school, many of the children, often vulnerable and subjected to the opinions of their parents, were afraid of going New York.   Growing up a few years after, I started watching the nightly news.  The sensationalism was easily identifiable in many of the media stories covered.  In all of this, I understand the culture of fear that was generated in the United States post-911.  The media, the opinion of parents were very influential on the impressionable youth.  Many may not understand the impact of 911 in their countries, which is understandable.  I may not agree with the reaction and culture of fear in hindsight, but I understand how it was formed, and how it was maintained.  “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” focuses around the notions of ambiguity and precariousness brought up by Darda.  In the end of the novel, Hamid leaves the option open for the reader to think about whether or not Changez had malicious intent towards the American.  This is similar to how I felt about the culture of fear in the United States. The media swayed the opinions of many of Americans towards fearing those that they were uncertain about.  This in turn, perpetuated the issue of Islamaphobia and racism.  The singular event 911 not only changed policies on security and foreign policy in the United States, but also to the core attitudes of Americans in general.  Darda discusses precariousness in “Rethinking Global Fiction”.  911 was not just a statement to the United States, but a statement to the world, that everyone was precarious.  In almost all situations, when an individual feels threatened by something, they react.  The prospect of over-reaction is continuous, but not unexplainable post-911.  While I may not necessary agree with the reaction, I do understand where the culture of fear stems from in the United States, and is reflected in “The Reluctant Fundamentalist”.  I may not agree, but I understand.