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Horror and Grace and Sept. 11

rorism and many Americans today feel a greater sense of community with others, and these are certainly both beneficial results of that terrible day. But in a number of ways life in the United States is more fragmented and more dangerous than it was before the attacks - and certainly than it was in the weeks and months after the attacks.

Although it is somewhat simplistic, we can analyze the situation in the United States as one in which we have traded freedom for safety. The dynamic is an ancient one, but it has come into sharp focus in the past two years, especially because of the Patriot Act and the work of Attorney General John Ashcroft who "even told Congress that anyone who questioned the Department's actions was helping the terrorists" (Frank 121). One of the most obvious and direct consequences of the 9/11 terrorist attacks was the passage of the Patriot Act and the redefinition of what constitutes security and safety in post-9/11 America from a political, legal and economic perspective. Whether one considers this to be an improvement in the overall quality of life for Americans probably depends less upon the facts on the ground and more upon one's own fundamental political beliefs.

For many people, the Patriot Act is both essentially unpatriotic and un-American because it runs counter to the lodestone of American identity, the Constitution. The provisions in the act that many consider to be unconstitutional include the following:

ò Permits the DOJ to access anyone's business, medical, student, bank, library or any other records (Sec. 501).

ò Defines as terrorists anyone engaging in "activities that - involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any state [or] appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce [...]".

ò Specifically defines as terrorism the destruction of property even if no one is hurt (section 808), telemarketing fraud (section 1011), a...

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Horror and Grace and Sept. 11. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 06:34, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1688405.html