ANALYSIS | September 11, 2001 was an event that inspired more Americans to take up arms and fight for a common cause more than any other single event in my lifetime. By October 7, 2001 the U.S. Military had mobilized and we officially went to war in Afghanistan. In the last 10 years our political and cultural landscape has changed dramatically in ways that no one could have predicted, and few understand looking back on it. Here are some of the most profound effects that the War on Terror has had on the American political landscape.
American Rights to Privacy Have Been Altered Forever
After the "domestic terrorist" was introduced to our nation on 9/11, the line between military laws and civilian laws has become blurred to the point where it isn't visible anymore. Of course a small sacrifice of privacy is a small price to pay for increased monitoring of possible terrorists, but the executive orders and laws apply to American citizens who would never commit an act of terrorism against anyone, and can be easily abused by overzealous law enforcement officers. The Patriot Act is the most well-known change made to our policies regarding privacy. It puts a lot of different agencies in a position where they can commit wiretapping that would usually be considered unethical, and invoke the Patriot Act if a fuss is made. I have a hard time believing that there haven't been any abuses considering how overreaching the laws are.
We May Have Never Had Serious Female Candidates or a Serious Black Candidate for President
As the election was approaching in 2008, George Bush's popularity was failing to the point that it was hurting Republicans in general. The Democratic Party was so sure that 2008 was going to be an easy win that even in the primary we knew our next President was either going to be the first female, or the first black U.S. President to take office. The concurrent wars were devastating to our economy, and continue to be as we pay a large percentage of federal taxes just to service the debt accrued in the last 10 years on wars and bailouts.
If the Republican Party was more viable in 2008, or at least was coming off an effective period of federal government, the Democrats would not have run an exclusively progressive ticket in terms of demographics. Without Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in the Democratic Primary, there would likely have never been a Sarah Palin in the hunt on the Republican side. I am proud to say that 2008 was landmark year for tolerance, but I wish we hadn't made the statement of tolerance at the most important time in our country's history to stay true to the policies that our government and economy are based on.
We May Have Been Victimized Again
I think it is pretty safe to say that Saddam Hussein and his Iraqi Army were not an imminent threat to our country's borders. Even though I support military decisions that were made by a president who had the overwhelming support of the nation at the time, I have to question what the information was that our government acted on to justify the invasion of Iraq. Afghanistan is a different story altogether, and while liberals used it against George Bush every chance they had, they celebrate Obama being the President who got Bin Laden like it is a Steven Segal movie. Afghanistan was a rogue nation that offered Al Qaeda every single thing they needed to operate and thrive.
The opium trade funded the terrorist camps were Osama Bin Laden trained the very same terrorists who were engaged in attacking American citizens and American ideas anywhere they could spot a target. The only opposition, Ahmad Shah Massoud, was assassinated two days before the terrorist attacks on 9/11. If we allowed Osama Bin Laden to operate with complete immunity I do not even want to consider the possible events that may have taken place in the last decade. While it was fun for liberals to put down George Bush for starting a war against an idea more than an enemy with flags and borders, all of America sleeps safer tonight because of it. If you can ever put a price tag on American bloodlust, it will be identical to the cost of invading Afghanistan and the ensuing operations that culminated with the death of Osama Bin Laden.
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