By Beacon Editorial Board
Tuesday marked the sixth anniversary of the most devastating terrorist attack on United States soil. This event has shaped the current geopolitical climate and defined a presidency more than any event since Pearl Harbor.â?©After the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 Attacks, we still need to reflect and come to terms with what Sept. 11 means to handle the upcoming change in presidential leadership.â?©The Bush Administration will be known for its response to terrorism and orchestration of our current involvement in Iraq. How many can remember Bushâ?TMs stances and key issues before Sept. 11?â?©Well into his first year in office, President Bush had every indication of becoming a lame duck president. He was elected without a popular vote by a divided nation, spending the first few months of his term at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.â?©Then the towers fell.â?©That day galvanized the president and set us on the path that we are still walking on today. Along this path, the executive branch expanded its powers tremendously, pushing the limits of executive privilege while infringing on Americansâ?TM civil liberties.â?©One phrase that could describe the period of history in which we have been living the past years it might go down as the â?oe9/11 Era.â?? It was a period of fear, uncertainty and knee-jerk reactions. In the past, we had internment camps and McCarthyism. Today, we have Guantanamo Bay and the U.S.A. Patriot Act.â?©It is time that we come back to reality.â?©Our leadership needs to respect the rights of its constituency. It needs to promote foreign policy that respects people in all parts of the world because fuel is added to the fire of anti-Americanism each time our government helps exploit people and their resources. â?©We need to stop using terrorism as an excuse for hurting people in the name of the American people. Abducting people, torturing them and holding them without any charges as â?oeenemy combatantsâ?? is terrorism.â?©This is by no means an excuse for our enemies to attack us. It is a call for change and an end to the â?oe9/11 Era.â??
