To Live Without Fear in the Age of Terrorism Essay -- September 11 Ter

To Live Without Fear in the Age of Terrorism      Ã‚  Ã‚   We can rebuild the New York City skyline, but the question for a nation that has for two centuries felt safe at home is how we rebuild our sense of security. We are painfully realizing that the fears and anxieties terrorism is designed to arouse may be not of a moment but the harbinger of a whole new era. We can fight the Taliban, but how to fight a ghost army that went to war with us before we were at war with it, an army that has injected its menace even into the everyday routine of opening a letter?    It has not helped that the government has been unable to answer basic questions. Is it safe to open mail? Is the anthrax of domestic or foreign origin? How many letters were contaminated? Who sent them?    Immediate answers to all these questions are hard. But that's precisely why the first lesson for the new era is to trust the people with the truth as far as it is known. Anthrax may not be contagious, but fear is, and the key to avoiding panic is to shun spin control. If fear of alarming people was the reason we were misled about the lethal nature of the powder in the envelope to Sen. Tom Daschle(CNN), it was a blunder. National morale will depend on clear and effective public communication along the lines set by New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani(Phoenix) and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Both met the challenge, because both have a command presence and speak the language of common sense as they level with the American public. They are not afraid to say, "I don't know." This is what will enable American citizens, like the citizens of Israel, not just to live with terrorism and fear but to channel their fears productively and, finally, to transcend them. ... ...nstitutions that fight for us and defend us: the military, the FBI, the CIA, the uniformed services in each of our communities. We support whatever they may have to do in order to win this war, including taking on morally ambiguous and hazardous actions against a ruthless enemy who seeks to destroy our values and our civil order.    We do all this because we all feel we are a part of a country unique for its qualities of freedom and liberty. And we draw from the power of a free society to commit ourselves to this mission of prevailing against evil. Our goal is humane and simple: to return to a normal life-to live without fear.    WORKS CITED:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cnn.com http://www.cnn.com/2001/HEALTH/conditions/10/15/anthrax/    Phoenix.com http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/this_just_in/documents/01823818.htm