I Believed in Hard Work. Then America Showed Me the Fine Print.

9/11, College, Capitalism, and the Slow Death of the Republican Promise

Close your eyes. Imagine it’s the fall of your freshman year at college, and you’ve just stepped onto the campus for the first time. The world feels wide open. Four years of hard work, honors classes, and discipline have led you to be just a few years away from a job, a starter home, a future you can build with your own hands.

That Magic Moment

Imagine life as a conveyor belt: reliable, predictable, rewarding. Even if you slacked a bit, the system had room for you. That’s the backdrop for my story.

Before that morning, college was a transaction in my mind: get the paper, get the money, build a life. I believed America more or less worked like the brochures promised—if you worked hard and did more than what was expected, doors would open and stay open. I wasn’t trying to impress anyone; I was just used to outworking everybody, used to teachers and my parents assuming big things were coming, and I carried a quiet confidence that effort alone would keep creating my opportunities.

I had fini…