Four Years Later: Are We Safe?

My answer: no.

Most people reading this can tell you exactly what they were doing when they heard about the planes that slammed the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania on this date four years ago. We can still remember the shock and the horror of having such an event happen on this side of the Atlantic, and we felt deep sympathy for the attack's victims. People did what they could, including such things as donating blood, giving to charities, and attending rallies in support of the victims.

Naturally, people felt a great sense of confusion, vulnerability, and fear. Yet unfortunately instead of showing leadership, the American government manipulated those emotions in a sick game to increase their power. Linking dissent with sympathy for the terrorists, Bush ploughed forward with his own agenda. This resulted in the American government violating the rights of its citizens (and the citizens of other countries) and starting a war against Iraq, even though Iraq posed no threat and the weapons of mass destruction to this date have not been found Bush promised that this was going to keep everyone safe from the terrorists.

Yet, a few weeks ago the United States was confronted with another disaster. Hurricane Katrina slammed the south coast of the Gulf of Mexico, causing much destruction of property, chaos, and conditions that resemble that of a Third World country. While the hurricane was a natural disaster, the aftermath did not have to happen. The Houston Chronicle in 2001 stated that damage to Nouvelle Orléans after a major hurricane ranked in the top three of catastrophes that could hit the US, the other two being an earthquake in San Fransisco and a terrorist attack in New York City. Yet, the money that was supposed to be used to build up the levees to better prepare the city, and the National Guard whose job it is to respond do such disasters, were sent over to Iraq.

Hurricane Katrina clearly shows where the priority of the Bush Administration isn't: keeping Americans safe. Bush will talk about the importance of capturing those dangerous terrorists, even though the US has gone four years without such an attack, where people in other parts of the world are happy when they can go four days without that happening. Throughout history, rulers have held onto power and justified their abuses of it by claiming that it was necessary to keep the people safe from an enemy. Unfortunately, unlike a terrorist attack, Bush can't try to sound tough by saying he'll round up those responsible. But don't worry, we'll just pray for the victims, and all will be fine. (Has he read James 2:14-24?)

This tragedy and its aftermath speaks for itself to the hollowness of any claims that Bush is looking out for the American people.