It was more than the skyline of New York City that was forever changed on that fateful day in September of 2001: The very fabric of this nation began to unravel. We’ve become prisoners to the fear that came out of the void left by the Twin Towers collapse. The security of living in the age of Mayberry has been replaced by a sense of mayhem from the shift in the mindset of the American people.
This country’s foundation of freedom and liberty for all has been replaced by border lock-downs, intolerance to “outsiders”, and the willingness to give away our peace of mind to those wanting to control our mind. The debate continues to rage on as to whether or not that day was an act of terrorism or government conspiracy, and while I have my own thoughts on that, I digress. The cause is not the concern, but certainly the effect is.
Prior to that day we would not have tolerated the restrictions being placed on us, such as those experienced at airports. We endure the frustrations of having to throw out toiletries, cosmetics, even baby formula, because these are now considered “restricted items”, or at least restricted quantities. We stand in “security” lines for hours, removing articles of clothing, shoes, emptying our pockets, and facing looks of distrust from other travelers when we are pulled aside for additional sweeps of their wands.
Would we as a society continue to tolerate our government spending billions of dollars on a war with an enemy that is unrecognisable, while families in this country continue to loose their jobs, their homes, and their piece of mind? Al Quida may be a threat, but the real threat to our society is that we are allowing our government to destroy the very foundation of freedom that this country was built on.
We can’t go back to that time prior to September 11th, but we must certainly move forward. The real threat to this society and it’s people is not terrorist, but the terror that has paralyzed us and stopped our growth. We must continue to move forward with courage and the belief that we are a great nation, we do stand for democracy, and that we are a free people. We have to take back the control that we perhaps willingly gave away nearly a decade ago. We should not be torn apart, but brought closer together.
