Fear 9

There are those clamoring for marshal law, for more police and military on the streets, in their desperation for a lost sense of security that can never be reclaimed. There are not walls high enough, or enough guards and police to protect against a terrorist attack. How far will our demand for security take us? Until each citizen is locked in a prison under police guard? What kind of nation is that? What kind of life is that?

How will this affect those of us working within the United States of America for reforms and restoring the public? Will we all be considered "enemies of the state," rounded up and put into concentration camps? This could happen here. In New York, just twenty blocks from the World Trade Center, a friend cannot leave or return from her apartment and walk the streets without a government I.D.

Civil Rights in Jeopardy

Can national security and civil liberties co-exist? There is a danger that U.S. ideals of freedom are swept away in a storm of anger, a rush for vengeance, a demand for protection against future attacks. During World War II, the United States interned thousands of Japanese Americans in what has been seen as a tragic mistake. [See Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War 1929 - 45 by David M. Kennedy.]

The sole immediate concern will be the need for the president to devise an anti-terrorist system that prevents this in the future. And unfortunately, the passions of an emotional public will support all that.

Foreign and Military Policy

Do we follow in Israel's footsteps and become a terrorist country by denying the Palestinians a homeland? Our political and economic relationship with Israel has been disastrous in the Mideast, and it must be reevaluated. It is American guns and weapons being bought by U.S. trained terrorists that are now attacking our country.

Does America continue to wage wars of aggression to further or commercial interests and extend our territory the way other imperialist powers have? If we do, then how can we justify such acts of aggression and not expect retaliation? Do we use this attack against America as further justification for our involvement in other countries, being the world's policeman, and furthering the agenda of internationalist organizations who are bent on destroying our national sovereignty?

If we want true peace in the world, then we must stop manufacturing the mindsets that create perpetual war as well. Our foreign and military policy has creating the necessity of terrorism and retalitation such as we've witnessed today. It has finally come home to roost.

If we weren't so naïve and uninformed as Americans about global politics, we would also know that America and our allies have perpetrated injustices around the world arousing the hatred of many factions with a cause for retaliation and vengeance. These foreign and military policies have fanned the flames of terrorism.

People's Response

The tragedy of this terrorist attack on United States soil is beyond comprehension, beyond grief. It will take years to deal with the emotional impact and the destruction of our sense of security, however illusory it was in the first place.

It may also be a point of transformation where we are forever changed for the good as well. That we as Americans might want to preserve our freedoms at all costs, both domestically and abroad. That we might treasure our national institutions and honor the constitutional intentions of our founding fathers. True patriotism is not about supporting the government, but loving your country and the principles founding it. Love your country always. Support your government when it deserves it!

Our way of life, our very sense of freedom came under attack. The survivors quietly acknowledged how lucky they were to be alive.

The attack on America imposed a gridlock on the entire country both physical and psychological. The extent of grief is immeasurable and will take years to process. The after-effects of this tragedy will be with us for the next thirty years, much like the Vietnam War.

We've seen the heroics and volunteers serving selflessly, many serving at the expense of their own life, to respond to this crisis. The brave character of the American people remains a strong asset of this country, and cannot be diminished. I applaud all the unspoken heroes. While our politicians were heading for the bunkers, the people were heading for the streets to see how they can help. This is part of the American character and the heart of good people all around the world.

As a nation, America and its government has departed from the constitutional intentions of our founders, and this has taken us away from being a country that once minded its own business, to a country that minds the business of hundreds of other nations in the world while ignoring our own security and the well-being of our citizens.

One consequence of this departure from the intention of the founding fathers having established a republic, not a federal democracy with territorial authority over the states, is misplaced priorities and ill-designed strategies for security within the United States. No government can have true security and be at war abroad and with its own citizens. We as a people must re-examine true security and whether or not it is attainable. We must also take responsibility and cannot continue to turn a blind eye to our political relationship to the rest of the world, and to the needs of America to be true to it's roots as the flagship of freedom.

True Security & Terrorism

What is important to you, true freedom or the illusion of security? How much are you willing to trade off for the illusion of security. This event has taught us how illusory security is, and how absentee we've been as a nation in securing it. But we must also consider the price and how much are you willing to pay.

How many of your liberties are you willing to sacrifice on a daily basis, so that an event of this nature will less likely happen again? There can never be any guarantee it will never happen again. Can you live with that?

In a world where terrorism is the battlefield, there is no such thing as real security. If you do not get your security from within, then you will be lost.

Terrorism is a global event and it involves governments and people from every nation. It is not as simple as identifying one man, one network, or even a nation as the enemy. Enemies are created not born. Enemies are the products of systems and power structures with a blind spot; people, companies or nations with ideologies and agendas that require the annihilation of another culture or way of life.

Terrorism is a war that cannot be won. It's gang violence on a global level, defending turf, ideology and commercial interests. There are no rules. There is no diplomacy. There is no common language or culture. There is no traditional battlefield, nor can it be won with conventional military strategy.