"Those who would trade some of their personal freedoms in for security will neither receive, nor deserve neither." Benjamin Franklin.
On the morning of Sept, 11 2001 people in american cities were starting their days like any other. People were going to work, kids were going to school, and Sept 11th was shaping up to be like Sep 10th, and like the days before it. New York city was no different; and as the inhabitants bustled about in the streets, going about their daily lives, oblivious to the tragedy that would befall them, New Yorkers sitting in the top offices of the world trade center towers also had no idea what was about to happen.
At 8:45 a.m. the first plane struck the north tower. Everything just stopped at that moment, and the whole world focused it's attention on what had just transpired. Confusion ensued, and for the next fifteen minutes no one new if the crash into the tower was a deliberate act, or a careless malfunction. That was until a second plane crashed into the south tower, changing the way we would conduct our daily lives forever.
The worst terror attack on U.S. soil had happened that morning, and immediately there was a call for more security. "President Bush responded by declaring an act on terror and senators began working on legislation to produce a bill to give more power to law officials and "to prevent and investigate acts of terrorism in the United States."" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Patriot_Act. A ten page bill that was put forth with the best intentions has broadened the reach of the executive branch and given too much power to the FBI when it comes to search and seizure. This page was taken from https://www.cdt.org/security/usapatriot/brochure.pdf. It's called What's Wrong Wi...
... middle of paper ...
...,000 on it. This is a far cry from $1.3 trillion dollars it has taken to finally kill him. When a terrorist organization attacks it does so with the intent of disrupting a peoples lives, and changing they way they live. With just 19 men and 4 airplanes he has achieved just this very thing. Every major gathering has a tension about it. We are left wondering in the back of our minds, "could this be it?" The way we travel has changed, securities have increased to the detriment of the average flier and we are no safer now than we were ten years ago. We are giving away our liberties a little at a time. It's time to do something about it. When we as a people find it necessary to give away parts of our freedom of speech, or our freedom of due process--in the cases of extreme danger--we lose against those who've attacked us, and those we are supposed to be fighting against.
Less than one week after the devastating terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S.A. Patriot Act was introduced to Congress. One month later, the act passed in the Senate with a vote of 98-1. A frightened nation had cried for protection against further attacks, but certainly got more than they had asked for. Russell Feingold, the only Senator to vote down the act, referred to it as, “legislation on the fly, unlike anything [he] had ever seen.” In their haste to protect our great nation, Congress suspended, “normal procedural processes, such as interagency review and committee hearings,” and, “many provisions were not checked for their constitutionality, lack of judicial oversight, and potential for abuse.” Ninety-eight senators were willing to overlook key civil liberty issues contained within the 342 page act. The lone dissenting vote, Wisconsin Senator Russell Feingold, felt that our battle against terrorism would be lost “without firing a shot” if we were to “sacrifice the liberties of the American people.” Feingold duly defended American civil liberties at the risk of his career, truly exemplifying political courage as defined by John F. Kennedy.
After the horrendous terrorist attack on the New York Trade Center a new Bill was passed by congress shortly after September 11, 2004. This bill is known as The Domestic Security Enhancement Act also called Patriot Act 2. This bill was designed as a follow-up to the USA Patriot Act to work in increasing government surveillance, detention and other law enforcement powers while reducing basic checks and balances on such powers. By the beginning of the year 2003 a draft of the legislation was available. Amongst the most severe problems the bill diminishes personal privacy by removing checks on government power, diminishes public accountability by increasing government secrecy, and diminishes corporate accountability under the pretext of fighting terrorism. Also the bill undermines fundamental constitutional rights of Americans under overboard definitions of “terrorism” and “terrorist organization” or under a terrorism pretext. Furthermore, unfairly targets immigrants under the pretext of fighting terrorism. (http://www.aclu.org/Safeand Free/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=11835&c=206)
Introduction On September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center buildings one and two were attacked. However, who we were attacked by and even if we were attacked is a hard decision to make. There have been many different claims about how everything on that fateful day happened. There are facts that we know are true, though; Flight 11 flew into the North Tower at eight forty- six in the morning.
George W. Bush’s “9/11 Address to the Nation” is a speech in which he talks about the catastrophic event on September eleventh, 2001. Two airplanes crash into the Twin Towers in New York City on this day, shocking the entire world. He addresses this speech to the people of America on the night of the disastrous event, to let the people of the United States know what is going on. This speech explains how the United States is a strong country, the motives behind the event, as well as to bring the United States together and stronger.
The attacks that occurred on 9/11 took place on September 11th, 2001. In this devastating event, four different attacks had taken place. Each of the attacks were carried out by terrorists. The group responsible for the attack was Al-Qaeda, a militant Islamist organization that is known to be global in present day. The group itself has a network consisting of a Sunni Muslim movement that aims to make global Jihad happen. Furthermore, a stateless, multinational army that is ready to move at any given time. This terrorist group focuses on attacking non-Sunni Muslims, those who are not Muslim, and individuals who the group deems to be kafir. Ever since the late 1980s, Al-Qaeda has been wreaking havoc all around the world. The leader of the group once being Osama bin Laden. Three planes were bound for New York City while another plane headed towards Washington, D.C. which was supposed to take out the U.S. Capitol. Two of the airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center. One plane hitting the North Tower and the other hitting the South Tower. The third plane had crashed into the Pentagon taking out the western side of the building. The last and final plane was focused solely on taking out the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. but failed due to passengers of the plane coming hijacking it from the hijackers. The passengers attempted to take out the hijackers but sadly failed, crashing it into a field in Pennsylvania. Throughout the content of this paper, we will be focusing on the role of media when it comes to 9/11; more specifically: how the media's coverage of 9/11 manipulated our feelings towards 9/11, how it affected Islamophobia in America, and the lasting effects of 9/11.
Tuesday September 11, 2001 will be forever in the minds of Americans all across the world, especially those in the United States. At approximately 8:45 a.m. in New York City, American Airlines Boeing 767 crashed into north tower of the World Trade Center (History.com, 2014). The plane crashed into the 80th floor of the World Trade Center. Many people were killed instantly, as a result of the crash. Unfortunately, less than 20 minutes later another Boeing 767 from United Airlines crashed into the south tower of the 60th floor of the World Trade Center. Once again, the impact of the second crash killed many people. Those not killed immediately, were trapped on the upper floors with little to no chance of survival. The two planes also caused debris that was on fire to land on surrounding buildings (History.com, 2014). America had no idea that those two planes crashes ...
September 11th was a dark and stormy Tuesday where the lives of people became the cost of revenge. Many innocent people faced their Tuesday morning by ending their lives instantly, as a high jacked plane plummeted from the sky, towards their office building. At 8:45 am a high jacked passenger jet, flight 11 of American Airlines, plunges into the North tower of The World Trade Center. 9:03 am another plane hit this time the South tower. Leaving both buildings ablaze in flames of deat...
Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States, once said “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” In America’s society today, some are willing to sacrifice their civil liberties in order to gain protection and security over some potential threat. Especially after the events of September 11th and several attempted bombings in U.S. cities. This sacrifice of individual freedoms such as the freedom of speech, expression, the right to information, to new technologies, and so forth, for additional protection is more of a loss than a gain. Citizens of the United States deserve equal liberty and safety overall, as someone should not have to give up one value in order to gain another. This concept of individual right goes beyond the simple idea of “individual comfort.” Personal liberties cannot be surrendered and are not to be compromised since these liberties are intangible. Individuals should not have their personal liberties exchanged for national security because individuals are guaranteed protection to these rights.
“Hey mom, look how low that plane is flying!”. “Oh my, that is dangerously close! Wait, that can’t be right. Why is it flying so low... and fast? Something must be wrong! Oh my God! It looks like it's about to crash into th…”. Ever wondered what the sound of anguish was like? If you were walking the streets of downtown New York City on September 11th, 2001, then you heard the sound of the desolation of a nation. On that day of despair, the US went through a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by 19 members of the Islamic terrorist group Al-Qaeda (9/11 Attacks). Over 3,000 civilians were killed as a result from two hijacked planes flying into the World Trade Center in NYC, and another hijacked plane flying into the Pentagon in Washington D.C. (9/11 Attacks).
Since September 11, 2001 many people can say that America has changed. Many people question if America has changed for the better or has it just gotten worse. Since the day those four planes crashed around the United States people’s lives have been changed. Many may not realize how their lives have changed, but with new laws passed life is different within America. The United States Patriot Act is one of the laws passed after 9/11: singed into order on October 26, 2001 just 45 days after the attack. The United States Patriot Act was put in place in order to protect Americans, yet has been affecting American’s civil liberties and caused controversy all over the United States.
First shock, then terror, followed by sorrow and lastly rage were my emotions on September 11th, 2001 when a hijacked airliner crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City. Tunh! Tunh! Tunh! All circuits are busy; please try again at a later time. This message kept repeating as I tried to call my cousin in New York, who was working in the South Tower. At the time the American Airlines flight 11 just moments earlier crashed into the North Tower. I sat in my house in shock and terror. Then at 9:05 am, about twenty minutes after the first collision, United Airlines flight 175 crashed into the South Tower. I began to feel the knot in my throat getting tighter and tighter until I just finally began crying. I still didn’t have any word from my cousin and when both of the buildings plummeted to the streets below, I thought for sure he was dead. When I returned home, my mother informed me that he had gotten out before the buildings went down. Turning on the television was another ordeal in itself. All of the news stations repeatedly exhibited the buildings plunging to the ground. I felt extreme sorrow for the families of those who had not made it out alive. They had to relive that horrible moment over and over again. I was also outraged. How could such an act be committed on American soil? The only way we can answer this question is to look at the terrorists who could do such an act and what possible reasons they have for doing it.
September 11, 2001 was a day that Americans and the world for that matter will not soon forget. When two planes went into the twin towers of the World Trade Center and two others went into the Pentagon and a small town in Pennsylvania, the world was rocked. Everyone in the United States felt very vulnerable and unsafe from attacks that might follow. As a result, confidence in the CIA, FBI, and the airlines were shaken. People were scared to fly after what had happened.
In 1692, one of the most inhumane tragedies occurred in the small village of Salem, Massachusetts. Now infamously recognized as the “Salem Witch Trials,” the trials were based on faulty accusations that charged others of being witches. These accusations resulted in a considerable amount of people being imprisoned and hanged, and it ended with 20 people being killed. 309 years later, four planes were hijacked by terrorists and were set to crash in four important government centers and buildings. Consequently, these attacks resulted in 2,966 deaths and it was the most severe attack ever on American soil. The terrorists were revealed to be Muslims, and that they supposedly did it in the name of “Allah”, which is the Arabic translation for God.
This attack was meant to be destructive and harmful than it actually was. The eight year later hijackings occurred as a result to the “Unsuccessful Attempt” as the terrorist group referred to the 1993 bomb attempt. On September 11, 2001 19 hijackers conducted the horrendous attacks. There were about 5 hijackers per passenger plane. The victims of the attacks ages ranged from two to eighty-five. Of these people 80% were men. As it can be concluded, it took an extended period of time for officials to clean-up the damage caused by the attacks. It was reported that it took 3.1 million hours of man work to clean up the damage done to the World Trade Center. “The World Trade Center clean-up project cost nearly $750 million dollars.” (9.11.01 Terrorist the U.S.). These clean-up and aftermath events caused widespread chaos in New York and surrounding
“What if free people could live secure in the knowledge that their security didn’t depend upon the threat of instant U.S. retaliation to deter an enemy attack?”