Tag Archives: myth of freedom

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Myth of Freedom — Student Perspective 2

CALL

“As it turned out, the agents were looking too hard. The FBI misinterpreted various facts as conforming to their theory that Sami was a terroist mastermind.”

RESPONSE

Reading this essay honestly just broke my heart. After 9/11 the United States government took every action possible to try and “fix” what was broken and I don’t blame them for trying to keep the country safe and it’s people. Today, we still see changes in places such as airports, universities, and public places. I understand why they are so keen to want to keep us safe because I mean isn’t safety a number one priority? But can they at least respect others while in the process of doing so? Sami, a muslim student, who came to America looking for what everyone wants and wanted to get a good education because he knew that America would give him that. But just because he is muslim does not mean he is looking to pick a fight with the kid next to him in class. When they mentioned that Sami had a family, a wife and three kids with the ages ranging from nine, six, and three, was when I really began to feel for him and his family. Imagine a father coming to America with only so little that he can take in hope of fulfilling the “American Dream” and then something tragic happens and their life is flipped upside down. He spent so much time in solitary by himself because the government knew that just maybe they would find something. With countless emails and phone calls not only involving him but also his family. Today, it said they are now back in Saudi Arabia teaching at a University and even though he is hurt by these events he is still trying to reconcile. What a beautiful example of forgiveness in such a terrible situation.

QUESTION

Why does the government feel like they need to intrude on a person just because they are not the same color as them? Yes, 9/11 was a terrible situation and we all know that but are we hurting more people in the process of trying to “fix” what has been broken.

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Myth of Freedoms – Student Perspective 1

CRQ- “From Taking Liberties: The War on Terror and the Erosion of American Democracy”

 

“The investigators in Sami’s cause wanted so much to find and disrupt a terrorist-financing network that they did not seem to notice that they were molding the facts in a procrustean fashion- or that their theory of the case was a severe threat to First Amendment values” (pg. 694).

 

I found the story of Sami to be really intriguing. Don’t get my wrong, I love my country. I am so proud to be an American and have grown up in such a great place. But at the same time, we have to be able to recognize our flaws. September 11th was a day of such tragedy. Like after any tragic event, we want to do everything we can to prevent it from happening again. However, sometimes this state of mind can be consuming and also blinding. I think that is what happened with the case of Sami. Situations like Sami’s become like witch hunts and make us not see everything as a whole and consequently make wrong conclusions. What really bothered me was that even though the government did not have substantial evidence that Sami was working directly for a terrorist organization, they continued to beat around the bush by charging him with a different crime.

 

Another quote that stood out to me is, “Profoundly affected by these events, he is still trying to reconcile his own experience with his lifelong belief that the United States stands for what is good and right” (pg.695). This really connects to our topic about the American Dream. Sami came to the United States with his family to bring them to the land of opportunities. He wanted to give them a better life. And instead he was given the opposite.

 

Question: How do we protect both our country’s freedom and each individual citizen’s freedom?