America in the Age of Terrorism
With color-coded warnings and recommendations to prepare for the worst, our government is doing all it can to help the American public lose its way. Before and after the events of the last five years, there remains the same amount of danger to our nation’s security. What has changed is the way we handle the same threats.
No amount of vigilance will change the fact that there will always be fundamentalists and political rebels who attempt to subvert whatever ideology they oppose. There will always be terrorists who kill and destroy in the name of religion. We are powerless to change how people think or the way people act.
But what we are empowered to do is live our lives. The American public has to look through the smoke and mirrors of warnings about threats domestic and foreign, buying duct tape, bottled water, and condescending color-coded systems. We must take back the freedom that the terrorists and our government have ripped away from us.
We must not sell liberties and freedoms for the illusion of security. The public must insist that the fear placed in it by our government is nonsense. The American public has been assailed by warnings for the last year-plus, and now they have tangible ways of preventing terrorism. Little does the public know that it is being led to the slaughter and will be left worse off than it was before Bush took office.
We have to fix problems at home that do not relate to terrorism. We have major problems with education, the environment, and a wobbly economy. Spending valuable time oiling up the Bush war machine, left empty by a war in Iraq, for a war in Iran or North Korea doesn’t save us from dealing with reality, as much as the administration would like us to think. It only wishes to manipulate the public toward government objectives instead of helping the voting public with its needs.
Do not assume that the Bush administration and those who support war are looking out for your interests. They are looking to offset worries about the economy, get more control over the Middle East with a military presence and save Bush’s sagging approval numbers. It won’t save you money on gasoline or put up any more boundaries between your children and terrorists, so the pragmatic reasons for new fronts in the war on terror are eliminated. Frankly, terrorism will always exist as long as more than one system of belief exists.
Let us remember, but never dwell, on what has happened in the past. Terrorism will remain as long as people have beliefs counter to the status quo. The American public has to insist on a better America. We must strive for a country not blinded by wealth or revenge but aimed at improving their lives of all within our borders.
Terrorists and rebels alike will come to terms with their opposition when they are not the center of attention for American media. They have accomplished what they want. The world is focusing on their message. Once America turns its critical eye to itself, the subversive elements of the world will be left with no ammunition. America must look to itself for answers instead of using terrorism as a rallying cry for a war against those who oppose our viewpoint and stand in our way. Otherwise, we are no better in our actions than the people we wish to fight.
