tp31.xml
Title
tp31.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2003-02-24
TomPaine Story: Story
TOWARDS A MORE PERFECT UNION
America s Greatest Gift To Mankind
A firefighter for 25 years, my father was a hero to me, but he thought, as did most Americans during the 1960 s, that the United States might come under attack by communists. We were wrong, and even as that concern faded, nobody envisioned attacks by little-known terrorist groups who had no clear purpose, never made demands, and struck without warning. When this happened on September 11, 2001, the U.S. Constitution, the core of America, was in danger of being shredded by nineteen men who carried out the biggest assault on American soil using -- boxcutters.
The very nature of the attack, a diabolical use of transportation in a free society, devastated us and our friends around the world. However, it brought us together and we raised our fists, waved Old Glory and shouted United We Stand, as if we never meant it before.
Then we faltered.
Some of our short-sighted leaders attributed the tragedy to an open society based on our precious civil rights. They quickly denigrated our Constitutional safeguards by saying its a different world today, these liberties may no longer apply. They enacted privacy-robbing laws empowering the government over the people, ironically labeling the new laws Patriotic as if to suggest opposing them would make you a traitor.
However, the Constitution s testimony to our freedom is its checks and balances, a brilliant framework that inspires us to bravely meet the challenges to our autonomy.
Our path to a more perfect union was laid when Americans decided that their legacy to the world was a free society. We must cherish our freedoms by respecting the sacrifices of brave patriots who fought for the liberties accorded us by the Constitution.
Let s continue this battle for freedom today and thumb our nose at fear by reminding ourselves that only a coward trades freedom for security.
America s Greatest Gift To Mankind
A firefighter for 25 years, my father was a hero to me, but he thought, as did most Americans during the 1960 s, that the United States might come under attack by communists. We were wrong, and even as that concern faded, nobody envisioned attacks by little-known terrorist groups who had no clear purpose, never made demands, and struck without warning. When this happened on September 11, 2001, the U.S. Constitution, the core of America, was in danger of being shredded by nineteen men who carried out the biggest assault on American soil using -- boxcutters.
The very nature of the attack, a diabolical use of transportation in a free society, devastated us and our friends around the world. However, it brought us together and we raised our fists, waved Old Glory and shouted United We Stand, as if we never meant it before.
Then we faltered.
Some of our short-sighted leaders attributed the tragedy to an open society based on our precious civil rights. They quickly denigrated our Constitutional safeguards by saying its a different world today, these liberties may no longer apply. They enacted privacy-robbing laws empowering the government over the people, ironically labeling the new laws Patriotic as if to suggest opposing them would make you a traitor.
However, the Constitution s testimony to our freedom is its checks and balances, a brilliant framework that inspires us to bravely meet the challenges to our autonomy.
Our path to a more perfect union was laid when Americans decided that their legacy to the world was a free society. We must cherish our freedoms by respecting the sacrifices of brave patriots who fought for the liberties accorded us by the Constitution.
Let s continue this battle for freedom today and thumb our nose at fear by reminding ourselves that only a coward trades freedom for security.
Collection
Citation
“tp31.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 22, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/614.