National Concern on Security

¶ … Safe After 911? Life is different after 9/11. We are not as safe as we thought we were before 9/11. The terrorists who attacked the United States not only killed Americans. To some extent, they killed the American way of life. This isn't to say the life was perfect in America before the terrorists struck. It wasn't. The fear we felt before the attacks was a personal fear, though. It was the everyday fears that everyone has to some degree. This has been altered considerably.

We worry now about terrorists attacking our country in ways that we have learned about, such as the plane attacks or chemical strikes. We also worry about the ways we can be threatened and not have any idea of what type of attack is planned, or where it might occur. There are so many repercussions from the attacks on 9/11. The economy has suffered and the government is spending millions of dollars trying to keep us all safe.

The burden of safety is making the airlines go bankrupt and we're not even sure that we're really safe, even with all of the safety procedures. After all, these terrorists came in and out of the country with no difficulty at all. They even took flying lessons in this country, learning how to fly straight, and no one thought this was unusual. They killed almost 3000 Americans.

Some of the concerns that Americans had immediately after the terrorist's attacks on 9/11 are still concerns today and it is unclear if there are security plans for these concerns. For example, does the government have safety procedures to protect the water systems or the communication lines in this country? The gas lines and power plants of this country all need to be protected.

We would be in a terrible predicament if we had even one of these parts of America's way of communicating or providing services was interrupted for any length of time or destroyed. The water system could be contaminated with biological contaminants. The ways in which we can be threatened seem to be limitless and the public is informed about only part of the efforts made to make us safe.

We have been informed of the airport security and if you travel, you see the differences in the way people are cleared to travel. The government tells us that they are patrolling the borders and that our Intelligence agencies are watching for terrorist's plots. It is not really the many things that terrorists could possibly do to our country that is so frightening. It is the fact that it is not just a possibility that it could happen. It did happen and shocked us all.

It was unbelievable that any one would attack our country like they did, killing unsuspecting innocent people for their cause. The fact that the terrorists did what they did and continue to commit terrorist's acts for a cause they believe will get them to heaven is extremely frightening. Their cause is one that not only allows them to die; it encourages them to do it in the name of Allah.

It is difficult to fight a group willing to die for the cause and who has a hatred for our country. Fear of dying or imprisonment usually will deter dangerous crimes, not for this group of terrorists. So, not only do we know they want to harm us, we know that they will. It seems that the only deterrent is the lack of success on their part. They want to.