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Security at the Cost of Freedom
Examining the aftermath of the United States post 9/11.
Today marks 18 years since that fateful morning when terrorists hijacked three aircraft, crashing two into the World Trade Towers of NYC, resulting in the collapse of both iconic skyscrapers. Chances are you remember where you were that day, and how it felt. I personally saw the plume of black smoke obscuring the island of Manhattan where the towers used to be.
On the plus side, we came together as a people to stand against what happened that day. But on the downside, we gave up a tremendous number of our freedoms and allowed our lives to be fundamentally changed in the name of freedom.
Like it or not, the terrorists won
I know that eventually, our military struck back at the terrorist cells based in Afghanistan, and along the way chased out the horrible, inhumane Taliban in the process. Yes, eventually Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of that attack, was brought to justice.
Even still, they won.
We fundamentally changed our behaviors in reaction to that morning’s attacks. The government gave a ton of power to the President to take certain actions, which in turn has allowed for the current President to do awful, unprecedented things. In the name of security, we gave up a lot of our…