One week into my freshman year of high school two planes crashed into the World Trade Center Twin Towers. Four days into my freshman year of college a Category 5 hurricane pounded the U.S. Gulf Coast. The outcomes and legacies of both these tragic events re-shaped not only contemporary American History but also the political perspective of the class of 2009.

For this year’s senior class, the most impressionable years in our academic careers have been marked by ongoing disappointments in the federal government. It is evident that the events of Sept. 11 and Hurricane Katrina ushered in an era of insufficient political responses from the U.S. government. It is easy to point to the negligent maintenance of the weakening New Orleans levees or the incessantly rising death toll in Afghanistan and Iraq as examples of the U.S. government’s failure to properly execute. In the past eight years the Bush Administration has failed to show our generation the proper strength and capabilities of the U.S. government.

I admit that as a native New Yorker the events of Sept. 11 had a more pronounced effect on my daily life than that of my friends living in Southern California. Hearing anecdotes of classmates whose parents worked in the World Trade Center or watched the towers collapse was not an uncommon occurrence. Yet what made my response to the terrorist attacks universal was the shattering of the illusions I harbored regarding the ability of my government to protect me. As 14-year-olds starting high school, by nature, we start to view our parents as people, evaluate our peers with a more critical eye, and even see the world as inherently fragile. The naïveté of youth wanes as the realities of adulthood begin to set in. Things are not perfect. People have flaws. But what defined our response and shaped our outlook was the painstaking understanding that people in positions of power are just as fallible as you and I. It was this disillusionment that framed our perspective and underscored the realization that our government — that of the hallowed land of the free — can fail to protect us.

Fast forward four years to freshman orientation. In between the Class of 2009 Ice Cream Social and Greek Movers and Shakers, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, displacing thousands of people. The natural disaster could not have been prevented, but the manmade disaster that accompanied it exposed humiliating shortcomings at the federal level. For many freshmen, following the news of Katrina on CNN.com propelled the feeling of helplessness that took root our freshman year of high school. Four years later, and cognizant of our government’s fallacies, we saw the government let us down … again. The remarkable fallibility of our government and its methods was shocking and intensified our existing skepticism. If the U.S. government can’t fully protect its people from foreign or domestic disasters, what faith do we have in our elected officials? Who, if not the government, can keep us safe from harm?

The only clear pattern I can weave together is a complete lack of faith in the federal government. My classmates and I have shouldered a unique experience where external forces continuously sharpened our outlook in the same direction — disconnect. The culture of fear equated with terrorist threats and xenophobic tendencies has noticeably dulled the vibrancy of political life in the U.S. An overwhelming number of students do not read the news, do not follow debates, and simply do not care about politics as a whole. Such pronounced apathetic tendencies are the norm and can be directly attributed to the failure to respond properly. Instead of living in fear of what the government can do, I live in fear of what the government can’t do.

The real relevance of these disasters is greater than the shortcomings of the Bush Administration. Sure, we can harp on the coincidence that nine months into each of Bush’s respective terms in office, foreign and domestic disasters struck. But more importantly, for most college seniors the 2008 election will be the first we can vote in and its results will speak to the impact these events have had on our political outlook. Will a crisis of confidence deter young voters from actively participating in politics? Or will we be moved to actively rebuild the federal framework in order to prevent future disillusionment? Contrary to what some politicos may rant, people want to trust their government; people want to have faith in their leaders. I genuinely believe we have an inherent desire to operate within more optimistic parameters. It may be hard to reverse the perception of an ineffective government that has — as we have grown up over the past eight years — become more deeply etched into our minds. My hope is that the Class of 2009 will recognize the momentous crossroads in our history and repeal the apathy that has infected so many of our generation for far too long.

Laura Temel is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at ltemel@cornellsun.com. The Girl With Kaleidoscope Eyes will appear Wednesdays this semester.