9/12/2001 7:30 PM
Yesterday was the day that changed our lives forever.
The Trade Center towers have collapsed… there may be as many as
20,000 innocent people dead from this alone.
The Pentagon has been damaged, 800 may have perished.
The death toll keeps on rising.
NATO has just invoked Article 5: An attack against one of us is an attack against us all.
We are going to strike at the enemy as a coalition.
I am afraid
Why am I afraid? I fear that we can be attacked again at any time. I fear that I can’t protect those I care about. There’s nothing to do. I feel helpless against the face of the enemy that lurks in the shadsows. I am afraid that someone will bring a suitcase-sized nuclear bomb into one of our cities. I am afraid that someone will release sarin nerve gas. Yes, the terrorism was successful, I am afraid.
Will this be the end?
Why am I worried?
I am worried that we will declare war on Osama bin Laden and
Afghanistan. I am worried
that our NATO strike force will be met with an alliance of Arab states
banding together to protect Afghanistan.
What if this is the start of the third world war?
Will I be drafted, be forced to pick up arms and kill someone
I’ve never met in a foreign land? Will
the United States be stupid enough to use nuclear weapons?
What will happen to life here? Our personal liberties are going to be done away with.
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or
abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the
people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress
of grievances.
Will our freedom of speech be destroyed?
What if we say something bad about our government?
Will we still be able to gather and discuss ideas and grievances?
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their
persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and
seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon
probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly
describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be
seized.
Will there be any privacy anymore? Will the FBI and the NSA be granted the power to search without warrants, to wiretap anyone, to read anyone’s email? All in the name of protecting our freedom and our way of life… Will the United States become a military state?
Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or
otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand
Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the
Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall
any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of
life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness
against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without
due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use,
without just compensation.
Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy
the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State
and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district
shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the
nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses
against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his
favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.
Will we still have due process? Will suspected criminals be locked away in some dark cell
without ever talking to a jury because it’d be a breach of national
security? I fear the
authorities are going to gain unprecedented power.
I think these are all valid questions to be asking. How much is freedom and security worth? If you don’t know where these amendments came from, you are not smart enough to fathom what I’m talking about. I’m afraid the terrorists had exactly the effect they were looking for. Life will never be the same.