Source: https://www.cheatsheet.com/culture/things-you-do-that-really-tick-off-tsa-agents.html/
The greatest terrorist attack in American history occurred on September 11, 2001 when planes flew into the Twin Towers in New York City. Over 2,996 people died and over 6,000 were injured. The images of people launching themselves off of burning buildings or the sounds of civilians calling their family members from the planes as they sped to their deaths stimulates strong emotions of sadness, anger, and most importantly fear. This attack was not orchestrated by people inside the United States, but instead by the Islamist extremist group called Al Qaeda which originated in Saudi Arabia.
When this devastation struck the country, the US needed a strong leader that would both echo their sentiments of anger and sadness but also channel that anger into assertive action that would remind everyone America was still the "greatest country in the world." President George W. Bush delivered this message perfectly. He sat in front of Congress and declared that terrorists had tried to destroy the very essence of what it meant to be a free American. He declared a "War on Terror," which included legally allowed the government to tap civilian phones and means of communication, target specific ethnic or religious groups, search through civilians bags and materials at airports without probable cause, and more. (Liptak 2011).
All of this directly violates the Fourth Amendment. This amendment prevents the government from conducting "unreasonable searches and seizures of property." This includes preventing unwarranted surveillance.The government was suddenly looking through American's personal information and physical objects and no one was overly upset. In fact, President George Bush during that time accrued the highest approval rating of any president in American history. 92 percent of people approved of him and by extension the decisions he made at that time (Gallup History). America was afraid and wanted someone to keep them safe even if that meant sacrificing fundamental rights. The removal of these rights have technically been effective. My question is, why is America not willing to sacrifice their second amendment in the way it was willing to sacrifice the fourth?
Although there has not technically been a single terrorist attack that has yielded as many casualties as 9/11, America is still familiar with terrorism. Arguably, school shootings have become the new terrorism epidemic. 20 years ago, two kids walked into Columbine High School and killed 13 people (CNN 2018). This murder of teachers and students who are arguably the face of goodness and innocence in America caused incredible sadness, anger, and certainly some fear. However, it clearly wasn't the same degree of fear that inspired change after 9/11. America was given far more opportunities after Columbine to increase gun control. 223 people have died in school shootings since Columbine (San Diego Union Tribune 2018).
Somehow, the idea of banning or limiting the usage of guns has become an intensely debated and extremely polarizing issue. When presidential candidate Hillary Clinton suggested gun reform, the National Rifle Association actually published an ad implying that if Clinton is elected you will probably be murdered in front of your family (NRA).
It is evident that fear strengthens the government and makes people in general more willing to sacrifice their Constitutional rights. However, it is less conclusive about what kind of fear makes people more willing to sacrifice these rights. I concluded the main reason for why people are more scared of terrorists attacks like 9/11: a greater fear of the unknown.
In terms of Sociology, fear is directly related to knowledge and ignorance (Rietzer 491). If we have some level of understanding about something, we are less afraid of it. When a kid shoots up a school, the media often reports that the kid did it because they were rejected by a love interest or bullied. While obviously almost no one else would resort to gun violence, almost everyone can understand the horrible feeling of feeling lesser. Conversely, when a radical Islamist group from a different country flies planes into American buildings, we are more confused about the rationale.
In conclusion, America was willing to sacrifice their fourth amendment rights because they did not fully understand the situation and did not know whether they were going to be attacked again. If giving away the fourth amendment would somehow keep them safer, that was a risk they would take. Conversely, the politicization of gun control and the home-grown nature of kids that shoot up schools makes our country much less willing to sacrifice the Second Amendment.
Works Cited:
Works Cited:
"Columbine High School Shootings Fast Facts." CNN. March 25, 2018. Accessed April 08, 2019. https://www.cnn.com/2013/09/18/us/columbine-high-school-shootings-fast-facts/index.html.
NRA. ""Don't Let Hilary Clinton Take Your Guns Away"." Advertisement. September 20, 2016.
Gallup, Inc. "Bush Job Approval Highest in Gallup History." Gallup.com. September 24, 2001. Accessed April 08, 2019. https://news.gallup.com/poll/4924/bush-job-approval-highest-gallup-history.aspx.
Liptak, Adam. "The 9/11 Decade: Civil Liberties, Before and After." The New York Times. September 07, 2011. Accessed April 08, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/07/us/sept-11-reckoning/civil.html.
"Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics." Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. May 11, 2015. Accessed April 08, 2019. https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/.
Riezler, Kurt. "The Social Psychology of Fear." American Journal of Sociology 49, no. 6 (1944): 489-98. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2771546.
San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board. "All of These People Have Died in School Shootings since Columbine. Enough." Tribune. April 02, 2019. Accessed April 08, 2019. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/editorials/sd-columbine-anniversary-school-shootings-20180420-htmlstory.html.
"September 11 Terror Attacks Fast Facts." CNN. September 04, 2018. Accessed April 08, 2019. https://www.cnn.com/2013/07/27/us/september-11-anniversary-fast-facts/index.html.
You bring up an interesting comparison between terrorist attacks and gun violence. I definitely agree that peoples fears cause them to approach situations through a very narrow lens, often with extreme measures that would sound unjustified if applied to other situations. With 9/11 I think the national support of skirting the constitution not only came from the fear of the unknown, but also from the lack of control that individuals had and thought they had over the situation. I agree that in some ways gun violence has become the new ‘terrorism epidemic’ but what separates it from foreign terrorist attacks is that people still feel that they have control over how situations play out. Gun owning members of society believe they can protect themselves and their families by having guns and seem to feel that this form of self-protection should override the relatively select few that do commit acts of gun violence. I think it's pretty safe to say that everyone feels more comfortable when they have more control over a situation and its possible outcomes. Therefore, although I don’t agree with it, I do understand the nations (NRA and many gun-owning individuals and families) aggressive reluctance to challenge the second amendment because they believe it gives them more control over their lives. Inversely the nations general support of actively sidestepping the fourth amendment gave the people a stronger sense of security and control over their own safety. I believe the fact that foreign terrorist attacks are foreign and originating from an unknown hostile force creates a huge sense of removed separation from our everyday lives, depending on the government to keep us safe and handle the situation seems like the best bet. In contrast, the immediate threat that gun violence poses to our lives ignites a more extreme sense of panic that results in people depending more on things they can control to protect themselves, therefore, the threat of removing that safety net creates the current fight over the second amendment.
ReplyDeleteI find your parallels between fear of the unknown, and how that influences American policy, fascinating. Particularly, people being willing to give up their Fourth Amendment rights, while not being willing to give up their Second Amendment rights. I believe the reason for this is people’s perceived safety, or security. They believed that if they gave up their Fourth Amendment rights, it would make them safer, when in reality, it did little in terms of personal safety. The second amendment, on the other hand, makes people feel more secure, or more in control of their personal safety, which is why they object so strongly to it being taken away. What these people don’t realize though, is how the Second Amendment is likely actually making them less safe, given the amount of mass shootings that have occurred in America in the past year. Overall, the less global perspective a person has, the more they will fear the “unknown,” and the more fear a person has, the more likely they are to feel like they need to protect themself.
ReplyDeleteThis is also a good example of prejudice and institutional racism. The U.S has felt threatened by Muslim countries way before 9/11 happened. This tension and wariness of Muslim countries could potentially be traced back to the 1979 Iranian Hostage Crisis. So when an event comes along that agrees with an opinion that the country already held, the country had a hard time seeing the forest for the trees (confirmation bias). Meaning that people took this isolated event and blew it out of proportion, blaming Muslims in general and seeing anyone from a Muslim country as a potential threat. The War on Terror and the increased security following 9/11 was a response to the fear of the unknown, but also to the national psyche’s widely held belief/fear of Muslim people, to a culture maybe a lot of Americans do not completely understand. Whereas the white kid with the gun is somehow more acceptable because we “get where he’s coming from”.
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