Have the Terrorists Won?
By Lisa Fabrizio
Everyone remembers the days immediately after September 11, 2001. Amid the anger tinged with mourning and the brief but unnerving sense that our great land was not totally protected from harm by the two great oceans that previously guarded us, one common thought summed up the nature of the coming struggle: if we let the attacks change our ways as Americans, then the terrorists will have won.
At first, these sentiments concerned themselves with issues that immediately addressed our national security, like the Patriot Act and the formation of the Department of Homeland Security. And although these were grudgingly accepted, most of the country seemed to agree with the immortal words of Benjamin Franklin: “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
So have we given up liberty to gain security? Were our rights as Americans diminished as a result of the jihad declared against us by al Qaeda? Maybe these were the wrong questions. Maybe, in the wake of the murders of four Americans in Libya and the lack of response from the U.S. government, the real question should be: if these outrages are no longer a cause for outrage, have the terrorists won? Will the ultimate victory be theirs?
These questions should assume an even greater importance in a presidential election year, but this doesn’t seem to be the case this time. It is usually assumed that any attack on our country would be a plus for the sitting president; however this just isn’t the case with Barack Obama. Why? Because he has demonstrated weakness, inaction and a dreadful inclination to apologize for, rather than defend our way of life.
