Security and Freedom in Present Day America

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the cry for "doing whatever it takes" to guarantee American citizens' safety and security and to prevent a similar terrorist act from recurring in the United States in the highly emotional aftermath of September 11th. In the process, calls are being made for special exemptions and greater liberty for the government to interfere into the private affairs of the citizens in the name of stopping any future terrorist conspiracies. The author shows that what is too easily forgotten is that it is a much easier process to give away and lose ones individual liberty than it is to get it back once power has been transferred to the political authority, and that the freedoms that one may lose in the present emergency are likely to remain lost to a great degree for long after the urgency has past. The paper studies, in particular, the strengthened security in the aviation field.

From the Paper:

"In the months following the attacks, security was stepped up within flight schools, but the typical profile was that of an Arab national. This left the general aviation industry stunned when 15 year old Charles Bishop flew a Cessna 172 into a building, in an apparent copycat incident in January 2002. Bishop, who had taken flight lessons for two years, had gone to the private-plane section of the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport, accompanied by his mother and grandmother. His instructor left him at the plane to perform a pre-flight inspection, authorities said. (3) Because he was under 16 (the legal age to fly solo) he had no authority to get in the plane alone, and was required to have an instructor with him. In the aftermath of this incident, the FAA has made recommendations to FBOs to help strengthen security. Of the 11 recommendations outlined by FAA on Jan. 9, nine are nothing more than common sense."

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• Persuasive Essay # 130245 : "Jews in Present-Day Germany: Trouble Ahead"

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