We Must Never Surrender the Right of Open Discussion :: September 11 Terrorism Essays

We Must Never Surrender the Right of Open raillery As a nation, we need thoughtful discussion concerning the September 11 attacks. In a time when open discussion is more incumbent than ever, it is discouraging to see simplistic questions about our nations interests, posed in these forums, brand as anti-American, inappropriate, or as enemies within. Now more than ever, careful and regardful debate can grant us the informational dexterity needed to none an open and neutral perspective as events unfold. I am an American. This countrys affectionate infrastructure, built with tremendous difficulty on the backs of many who sacrificed their lives for their country as well as those who sometimes unwittingly found themselves in the means of the nations maturation, is unique and valuable. It grants its citizens the opportunity for growth, unparalleled granting immunitys, and the means to remedy injustice. We are really a great nation. Times of duress call to our minds the patriotic wish and admiration we have for our country, and bring us to realize just how felicitous we are to live in such a nation. As an American, I refuse to surrender the ability and willingness to think openly, critically, and analytically about issues in our society and in our world. I will not allow the privileges of freedom and opportunity crafted so carefully in the course of the last both(prenominal) hundred-plus years to blind me to mistakes weve made and mistakes we continue to make. I will not surrender to the demands for unity and compliance in the pursuit of vengeance. We owe it both to ourselves and to those who have come before us to maintain a caseed, simple honesty in assessing the state of the world. Those who bring nothing more to the world forum than reactionary and manipulative accusations of anti-Americanism do disservice to themselves, their country, and to reasonable thought. It is hard, though, to accompaniment thoughts clear-headed and words well-conceive d during a storm as confusing as we view now. A sharp exchange of writings between Noam Chomsky and Christopher Hitchens, a editorialist for The Nation, was a visible sign of the heightened tensions that try tempers and better judgment. David Talbot and Andrew Sullivan, both regard political writers, engaged in a similar exchange. There is reason for anxiety. The initial highly-visible strikes against our country have yielded to an anonymous, growing swarm of threats and attacks, currently in the form of anthrax-laced mailings, that lack the visibility and impact of traditional acts of war save nonetheless foster a sense of fear and vulnerability.