On September 11, 2001 America was faced with a tragic crisis. The USA was thrown into a state of emergency, confusion, and terror. It was then that President George Bush brought into effect the war on terror. The War on Terror is an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom. In short it’s exactly what it says, a war on terrorism, by any means necessary.
In the words of George Bush in his speech declaring the war on terror. “Tonight we are a country awakened to danger and called to defend freedom. Our grief has turned to anger and anger to resolution. Whether we bring our enemies to justice or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done.”
But has our countries leadership taken this too far? Do we sit back and watch as our government takes away liberty after liberty?
America has started letting fear rule it, the terrorists have won, they have instilled terror in our country. Our liberty’s have been taken away one by one by our fearful government, and replaced with security over freedom.









One side of the argument believes in security over freedom. Basically that means that things like airport scanners, alarms, and fear will continue to rule our country. Fear has begun its reign in the US, and with fear comes hatred. Hatred towards anything and anyone that is different and therefore “dangerous”. People have always feared other people who are unlike them. It’s taught from generation to generation. The sad thing is that instead of discouraging fear, our government is the one teaching it with their news articles, public statements and “precautionary measures”. For example, I wanted to do some extra research on the idea that Americans are discriminatory against Muslims in particular. So I dressed as a Muslim while going through the airport in Lihue, Kauai. What I found was both saddening and somewhat shocking. First the security officials pulled me out of line and had me wait for a while, and then they asked me where my bags were. The personnel instructed me not to touch my bags, but to just point them out. I showed them and they brought them to a table to be checked. I was then given a full body pat down, but was that all? Nope! They also swiped my hands with a chemical. When I asked why, the woman told me quite rudely, "To see if you've been handling any explosives you might be hiding under that scarf of yours". I came very close to laughing at her, telling her that it was all a test, and that she had failed, but I controlled my tongue for the moment. Then she asked for my boarding pass to check my name and then she put my name on some kind of list. I’m not sure what it was, but I think I proved my point on American discrimination. Until we as a nation realize that we are the source of the problem, we cannot move forward. It’s not just other cultures that we’re hurting, but our own culture as well. Not only do airport scanners invade your privacy, but they also release radiation. For those people who have to fly a lot and therefore go through the scanners frequently, it is a health hazard. But that doesn’t stop the constant growth of scanners in the US. Americans are scared, and because they are scared, they won’t do anything about their loss of freedom.
On the other side of the spectrum, there are those who believe that America should have freedom over security, that they should have a say over what goes on in their country’s airports, military bases etc… I am personally in favor of this idea. The people themselves should have a say on how to run the country. The problem is that we’ve gotten so accustomed to things being run for us that when it is our turn to step up and take a stand we say “The worlds going to have to end eventually anyway, there’s nothing we can do about it” Ellen white says



So we cant in good conscience just sit back and watch as our country falls into oppression. The whole idea of freedom over security is what this country was founded on. The 4th amendment says that US law
”Prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and sets out requirements for search warrants based on probable cause”
Personally I think airport security are well outside their boundaries according to the 4th amendment of the constitution.
If only our founding fathers and ancestors could see us now after they fought to give us the freedom that we are so readily giving up.
“Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.” Benjamin Franklin


“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” Martin Luther king Jr


The man who would choose security over freedom deserves neither. Thomas Jefferson.


There is a theory that the government of America was behind the attack in 9/11. Some people believe that the government was behind that crisis. It almost makes sense; it would give them grounds to launch into the war with Afghanistan and Iraq. America has thrown itself further into debt to keep this war going that they don’t even belong in. Reports say that America is spending $2.4 trillion to keep 75,000 troops deployed overseas from 2013 to 2017. About 210,000 troops are currently deployed. That does not include the Pentagon's normal spending, which in 2007 was estimated to be about $450 billion. We are going further and further into debt to fight a war that we aren’t even sure we believe in! What kind of messed up theology is this? Sixty-three percent of people questioned in the poll say they oppose the war, with 35 percent saying they support the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. Shouldn’t we as a people have a say in it if we stay in this war while we send our fathers, brothers, and husbands to be killed for a war they don’t believe in?
Although I don’t personally believe the government was behind 9/11 it’s still a possibility, and one that many people believe in. Here’s a clipping from a news article I found that was published right after the incident
“As extremist Arab terrorists are believed to be the perpetrators, hatred and anti-Islam sentiment, without distinguishing the despotic militants from ordinary Muslims have increased, even though most of the Muslim communities around the world have condemned this act. While visible efforts were seen by politicians to try to separate terrorists from Muslims in general, it has not been easy. On the one hand, after years of economic and geopolitical history, there are some aspects of distrust, while on the other hand, extremists in the Muslim and Christian communities are adding to the antagonisms. For example, during the height of the shock and anger to the September 11 attacks, extremist tendencies in the West resulted in beatings and even killings of Muslims. Even non-Muslims that just happened to have long beards or in some way resembled Taliban/Al Qaeda members were targeted. Others saw this as “proof” that Islam is inherently violent or that it is the primary threat to the rest of the world, etc. On the Muslim side, there have also been equally extreme reactions, from support of these terrorist acts to even being convinced that this was some sort of Zionist conspiracy to blame Muslims! In both cases these seem to be a minority of people with such extreme views but of course the concern is always that it will increase over time.”
Profiling people because of ethnicity or religion can result in dehumanizing them, which is what happened to the Muslims in Bosnia and Kosovo. They were tortured and mass murdered by the Orthodox Christians. The government was involved in this ethnic cleansing. Also this is what happened in Hitler's Germany. Jews and Gypsies were portrayed as a menace to society and dehumanized. We all know what that led to.
Also, if our own country targets law-abiding citizens because of their religion, what might happen to our own religious freedom if they decide that members of our faith are a danger or menace to society? The US is supposed to be the beacon of religious liberty in the world. What will happen in the world when the US violates its own principles?
What is the real cost of security over freedom? Isn't that a scarier world than what we now have?