[I mentioned that I'd be writing an introduction to our Freedom Essay along with you. I'm posting it here.]
After watching CNN repeatedly broadcast from dozens of angles as both towers fell into Manhattan's floor; of businesspeople leaping from upper story windows, their arms and legs flailing in midair; of despairing and defeated rescue workers limping through that ashen tomb of invisible and instant death; who among us did not at some point cry out for swift and aggressive retaliation? In the wake of such a disaster, it is customary for the media and the US government to placate Americans by making two types of promises. The first is a vow of instant justice for the guilty party. The second is an incessant call for “enduring freedom” to be quickly meted out by US military mobilization and later, invasion and bombardment. This latter example (that of enduring freedom) illustrates how the concept of “freedom” has been transformed since 9/11. From that fateful day onward, when we hear politicians and US citizens speak of freedom, what we are really hearing is a call to oppress others. Our quest for freedom has become inextricably linked to stealing freedom from others.
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