tp208.xml
Title
tp208.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2003-03-10
TomPaine Story: Story
Toward A More Perfect Union
The events of September 11 taught Americans several shocking lessons. We learned that our protective systems were imperfect and that we were passionately hated in some parts of the world. We learned that we were vulnerable, after all. In the year since, our nation has attempted to address this vulnerability through new laws and programs meant to make us safe from terror.
Roger D. Congleton, in the summer issue of The Independent Review, argues that our nations response to terrorism since September 11 has been overblown.
"I basically think we are really overreacting to this in a fairly large way," said Congleton, an economist at George Mason University, in an August interview. ""I think it would be useful for the press and the government to be reminded that the risks are not as gigantic as we seem to have been encouraged to believe over the last year.""
Congletons message is primarily economic: We need not spend so much more money on terrorism than on any other threat, perceived or real, to which we are subject.
But we have been spending far more than money. We have been writing checks against our freedoms to pay off the perceived threat of terrorism. No amount of protection is worth what some of our leaders have asked us to give up.
From the Justice Departments Operation TIPS, which attempts to pit citizen against citizen; to the FBIs accessing of public library lending lists; to the unlawful detention of American citizens without due process, we are trading our rights, which constitute Americas greatest wealth, for "safety."
Hopefully September 11 can teach us one more thing: that we must not compromise our freedoms in order to defend them. Our nation, this "more perfect union," depends on our learning this most difficult lesson.
The events of September 11 taught Americans several shocking lessons. We learned that our protective systems were imperfect and that we were passionately hated in some parts of the world. We learned that we were vulnerable, after all. In the year since, our nation has attempted to address this vulnerability through new laws and programs meant to make us safe from terror.
Roger D. Congleton, in the summer issue of The Independent Review, argues that our nations response to terrorism since September 11 has been overblown.
"I basically think we are really overreacting to this in a fairly large way," said Congleton, an economist at George Mason University, in an August interview. ""I think it would be useful for the press and the government to be reminded that the risks are not as gigantic as we seem to have been encouraged to believe over the last year.""
Congletons message is primarily economic: We need not spend so much more money on terrorism than on any other threat, perceived or real, to which we are subject.
But we have been spending far more than money. We have been writing checks against our freedoms to pay off the perceived threat of terrorism. No amount of protection is worth what some of our leaders have asked us to give up.
From the Justice Departments Operation TIPS, which attempts to pit citizen against citizen; to the FBIs accessing of public library lending lists; to the unlawful detention of American citizens without due process, we are trading our rights, which constitute Americas greatest wealth, for "safety."
Hopefully September 11 can teach us one more thing: that we must not compromise our freedoms in order to defend them. Our nation, this "more perfect union," depends on our learning this most difficult lesson.
Collection
Citation
“tp208.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 27, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/617.