Terror in the US of A
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Terror in the US of A
The September 11,2001, terrorist attacks in New York and Washington prompted widespread debate about the best way to root out terrorists and prevent further disasters. America was targeted in large part because of our free society and sacrificing that freedom would not only fundamentally change our society for the worse, but also give a victory to the terrorists. Before we make drastic, long-term changes to our laws, we must consider the fact that we will also be limiting our civil liberties to ensure civil order. Although we as a people may not have quickly come to a long-term decision, Congress acted quickly to strengthen anti-terrorism laws. The changes Congress ultimately enacted did not generate as much debate as it should have. We as a people remain shortsighted, and did not contemplate on the fact that Congress's actions are only a quick fix to the current situation. Some long-term effects of the proposed changes would be: loss of privacy, discrimination against Arab-looking passengers, wrongful detaining of foreigners considered to be suspected terrorists, and the practice of banned interrogation methods such as prolonged sleep deprivation. We are faced with the fact that if we sacrifice our civil liberties, we will be safe but with fewer liberties, which may have been the objective of the attacks in the first place. However, if we don't adopt any changes at all, we will remain vulnerable to future attacks. We must find the correct balance of civil liberty and civil order so that we are both free and safe...