In his editorial in today's New York Times, Thomas Friedman opines that America has gotten too wound up in the events of 9/11, become ignorant and have cowered to the fear of terrorism.
9/11 has made us stupid. I honor, and weep for, all those murdered on that day. But our reaction to 9/11 — mine included — has knocked America completely out of balance, and it is time to get things right again.What Mr. Friedman doesn't realize is that he has just demonstrated the very qualities of a person who chooses to adopt a 9/10 attitude. He would rather we adopt a few measures for safety, but don't put off foreigner in the process. Let's not be offensive. Let's just open our arms and hope that a terrorist doesn't land in them. Let's recognize our enemy but then let's put on our rose-colored glasses so they look prettier.
Before 9/11, the world thought America’s slogan was: “Where anything is possible for anybody.” But that is not our global brand anymore. Our government has been exporting fear, not hope: “Give me your tired, your poor and your fingerprints.”
While I would agree with him that any candidate whose main platform is the GWOT and 9/11 should be a sinking ship, I don't think we should dismiss candidates who consider our nation's national security a high priority.
It is this comment that makes him appear to become a defeatist.
I’d love to see us salvage something decent in Iraq that might help tilt the Middle East onto a more progressive pathway. That was and is necessary to improve our security. But sometimes the necessary is impossible — and we just can’t keep chasing that rainbow this way.He's right. We have to adopt a 9/12 attitude, but not in the sense he intends. Contrary to his opinions, the presidential candidate who neglects to remind us that we are indeed vulnerable to security threats will lose MY vote and thousands of other true conservatives who still believe that freedoms can't come without a price. And this means remaining awake to every kind of vulnerability, especially those like September 11th.
Quote for the day: "Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it. " - Thomas Paine
I think a national photo id is a good idea. I also think that we need to have better monitoring and control of people entering our country. Our society is based on a lot of freedoms, but our Constitution does not gaurantee them to non-citizens.
Ron, When you say national photo ID is a good idea, do you mean for those who are entering our country or for all US citizens too? I assume you mean for non-citizens, but I want to be clear.