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The Pledge of Allegiance is ann oath that every American has pledged to and should still abide by today. An oath that reminds us of all the privileges that we have access to in our beautiful country, and what we stand for as a people. We say it frequently, as well as the National Anthem. Our founding fathers believed that we had an entitlement to a great number of rights, the most important ones being freedom, liberty, and security.  Our freedom, liberty, and security can never be fully damaged beyond repair. But on the peaceful morning of September 11th, 2001, we felt that our rights and privileges had been compromised. Al Qaeda terrorists intentionally hijacked and flew two different planes into one of our country’s symbols of business and freedom, the Twin Towers, located in Manhattan. After the tragic event of lives being lost and families torn apart, we were able to unite together the people who brought harm to our city that we were not broken.  “The nation is still struggling with the challenge it confronted on Sept. 12, 2001: how to protect against additional attacks without trampling on the civil liberties that Americans have cherished for more than 200 years.” The government has been wiretapping, searching possessions, and questioning people, all without warrants. Many people disagree with these methods. I, on the other hand, agree with these methods. First, many of the population wouldn’t have a problem with warrantless actions if they realized how many terror attacks were stopped from those actions. Second, if people don’t have anything to hide, they should not have an issue with possessions being checked.  We were able to unite together, and even people from other countries were able to help us unite. For example, a Massai tribe gave an American embassy worker 14 cows for our country that cannot be slaughtered. It is an example of how powerful our nation is, and how strong we really are. It also shows that people from other countries can still grief for us and with us, even though they weren’t there.  Our rights and entitlements have not and will not be broken. We unite together not only in our country, but with other countries as well.

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Collaborative writing assignment:

When you eat you dinner, do you think about how lucky you are to have an abundance of delicious food and purified water, surrounded by your family in your sturdy house? Do you think about child in other countries, exactly like you, who don’t have these things? America is filled with wonderful things that are foreign to some countries. Sometimes, peoples of other places become angered and jealous of all we have. Sometimes they try and use violence to prove a point.

9/11 is a prime example. Radical terrorists hijacked commercial planes and steered them into America’s prized buildings. The “Freedom vs. Security” article states. “The attacks shattered America’s sense of invulnerability.” Many people were killed, and our country was stunned and unnerved. We started to question our safety. The government raised security measures to drastic heights in an attempt to protect the people. They took it too far, and President Bush conducted illegal monitoring of phone calls, emails, etc. This angered citizens because because it violated their rights of liberty. Americans wanted to mend the gap in the country by honoring it, not controlling it. People from all over who suffered disaster joined to repair a damaged flag from New York. This flag symbolized our ability to rebound in a time of grief. Even other places around the world understood our devastation and wanted to help ease it. A Masaii tribe from Africa donated 14 cows, as the cow represents who the Masaii are. They thought this may aid in fixing what was lost.

When disaster strikes, it makes you want to prevent it from reoccurring. but the truth is that that will only make things worse. Terrible things happen, but we don’t want them to override the good.“Think about walking a tightrope,” he says. “The idea of finding a balance means that you’re leaning a little to one side and then a little to the other side, and that you may fall off occasionally.” Celebrate wonderful times, mourn the happy ones.

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Patriotism Text Set Response:

Sample Response: America’s founding fathers believed their citizens had an inalienable right to freedom. Since the states ratified the constitution, American citizens have prized and protected their fundamental right to freedom. On September 11. 2001, Al Qaeda terrorists attacked the United States seeking to destroy America’s symbols of wealth, freedom, and strength. The attackers sought to undermine American citizens’ sense of invulnerability and security.  A central that is revealed through the Patriotism text set is that after the tragic events of 9/11, Americans united to rebuild the nation, remember the many lives that were lost, and honor the first responders who sacrificed their lives.  Countries from around the world grieved in solidarity with America.  For example the Maasai tribe, a small Kenyan tribe, considers cattle their most prized possession because the cattle sustain their tribe. The Maasai dedicated 14 cows for America because they believed, “To heal the pain in someone’s heart..you give them something that is close to your own heart”.  The dedicated cattle that can never be slaughtered represents how other cultures like the Maassai shared in America’s sorrow and loss after the 9/11 tragedy. As Americans began to rebuild, people realized that because of September 11th, life would never be the same. America would have to confront the dilemma of how to preserve and restore American citizens’ sense of security and freedom without infringing on a citizen’s individual civil liberties. In the article “Freedom vs. Security: The 9/11 Dilemma”, author Patricia Smith examines how difficult it has been for the government to keep America safe and “protect against additional attacks without trampling on the civil liberties that Americans have cherished for more than 200 years.”  In some cases the government has overstepped its authority and infringed on individual's civil liberties when it has wiretapped phones, or read people's personal emails in an effort to thwart terrorist attacks. The task of balancing freedom vs. security continues to be a difficult task for government agencies.  Many believe the nation emerged stronger after the 9/11 tragedy, however there must be continual debates regarding balancing preserving citizens’ freedoms while still protecting the nation from future attacks.

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The 9/11 tragedy was a intricately planned attack that shattered America’s reputation of being a strong and proud place of freedom and security. America will forever hold a burden in its heart for those who lost their loved ones, friends, and neighbors. But we will grow from this horrific lesson to increase with our security with our surroundings. We realized then that we could not find a balance between security and freedom without infringing on the privacy that belongs to the people of the nation. Since 9/11, terrorists within our home’s borders were inspired by the rebel attackers and took action against us because their beliefs differ from ours. In the story “Fourteen Cows for America”, a small Kenyan tribe empathized with our loss during 9/11 and gave us their prized possession of cattle as a gesture to help us heal. Their culture is a kind one. They believe that “There is no nation so powerful it cannot be wounded, nor a people so small they cannot offer mighty comfort.” This statement shows that other individuals can offer sympathy regardless of where they are in the world. To the Maasai tribe, the cow is life. They depend on them for food and clothing and milk. Therefore, when they donated fourteen blessed cows that could never be slaughtered, this showed that they were in solidarity with the United States. Though the process of grieving the losses of 9/11 may never end, the U.S. had to consider how to protect itself from future attacks. The government has relentlessly been trying to find potential traitors to the country through reading our emails, texts, and phone calls. Author Patricia Smith explained, “In 2002, President George W. Bush authorized the National Security Agency to monitor the phone calls and emails of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Americans and others inside the U.S. suspected of terrorist ties, without first obtaining warrants.”Many Americans are bothered when they feel that their privacy has been violated. Looking through my personal records doesn’t bother me as I know that they are trying to protect us. Well, maybe a little. Without having warrants, though, can’t anybody earn the right to search through our private conversations? I think that this is what bothers everyone the most: The government can look through our neighborhood trash! Ultimately, the balance of providing security while allowing people’s individual freedoms is a subject that is under constant debate. Now, why they would drive all the way to our communities and not ask questions to the owners of the household is past my knowledge. This information came from “The 9/11 Dilemma: Freedom vs Security”. A flag. Hope can come from a flag of several stitches. People pass around a battered and torn flag that has been through the 9/11 attack through the states that have endured hardships, such as Long Island, New York for hurricane Sandy. It has provided hopeful thoughts for those who have lost everything. In every desperate situation, at least one person mends a stitch on this flag from another flag in the area. This symbolizes America’s promise to heal wounded souls. The multiple reasons that Al Qaeda tried to injure our land of the brave and home of the free are complex, but one thing is certain: Our nation was once proven vulnerable, but we will not stand down from improving now. Not without putting our best foot forward, and leading through tough times.

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Everyday we wake up in the United States with freedom and liberty granted to us; because we are U.S. citizens, we are given rights to help us live in justice, and nothing but. These permissions gave our nation strength and brought us together. However, a group of Al Qaeda terrorists attempted to destroy this built faith in our country with the convoluted plan of hacking and crashing two planes into New York’s prized possession: The Twin Towers. On September 11, 2001, our country was brought to sudden trauma as these attacks were launched, making us feel weak, vulnerable, and depressed. In a way these attacks teared us down, but they also rebuilt us. Residents of the United States were utterly distraught, but we reunited with the help of other countries love and support, one such example being the Maasai tribe. This tribe had a deep passion for life, worshiping the cows they owned, and although having a tough exterior, had a soft inside when disaster struck. The Maasai heard of the calamity coursing throughout the U.S., and without having any knowledge of our customs and history, donated fourteen blessed cows to America to show their utmost support; to this tribe, the cow is life, and they gave away their cherished animals. The Maasai’s motto, “Because there is no nation so powerful it cannot be wounded, nor a people so small they cannot offer mighty comfort”, only proves that even though the tribe was not as wealthy as us, and not of our great size, they offered support greater than the largest country could.

America received gifts of paramount importance to us, which aided us to cease our grieving.  Nevertheless, everyone knew that daily lives would be forever altered in a way that lessened hope and increased controversy over how the renewed nation would be run. How was the security and protection of the United States going to increase? How could we keep our deserved rights as citizens of the U.S. while still monitoring the country? How are we to continue living under such horrific circumstances? The government started wire-tapping and listening in to our private conversations, but after being ruled illegal, the country is still attempting to please the people while meeting security needs.Although the heinous attacks on September 11 still haunt us, we still fought through it to prove that our united nation can withstand anything.

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On September 11, 2001, Al Qaeda attacked the United States by turning hijacked planes into missiles. This terrorist group targeted symbols of America’s power (such as the Pentagon and the Twin Towers) seeking to undermine a citizen's sense of security. Many people died and the entire country was in despair and turmoil, yet nations around the world grieved with them and donated everything they could to help America’s cause.

Out of these many nations was the small Massi tribe. For the Massi, cows were their most prized possession and most families relied on them to sustain themselves. This small remote village located in Kenya caught news of this tragic event and donated fourteen cows for America in sympathy. This donation truly showed how close the bonds of humans are, even if we are strangers. It shows that humans are driven to help each other no matter who it is, just as the Massi gave what they valued most precious to the Americans after that day on September 11, 2001. After the aftermath of 9/11, the government faced a conflicting issue, the issue of Freedom vs. Security. The government has been “Walking a Tightrope” as Patricia Smith wrote in her article “The 9/11 Dilema”. That is exactly true, the government has been intruding our personal privacy in order to ensure a more secure country but many think they have crossed the line. For example, “In 2002, President George W. Bush authorized the National Security Agency to monitor the phone calls and emails of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Americans and others inside the U.S. suspected of terrorist ties, without first obtaining warrants.” Right now, many are trying to get the government to let us have more freedom...but could it cause another horrible accident like 9/11? This is what Patricia Smith meant in “walking on a tightrope”. What do you think, has the government been restricting our freedom too much or no?