"False Senses of Security?"

Jessica Gerlemann
State & Local Gov’t
Professor Pohlman
14 December 2010
False Senses of Security
Many times we have had close calls where safety was at stake. We’ve even went to war over it. Yet, what happens when it happens to us here at home? There is one specific incident where it has. September 11, 2001 the twin towers collapsed thanks to a terrorist attack. Due to this incident several people feel the need for safety and want to acquire it fast. In order to acquire it, some decide freedoms should be given up in order for government to step in and help.
A lot of times when problems go wrong people turn to government and it is only natural to do that. Yet, can government help any more than we can? Several precautions should be taken in order to prevent any more terrorist attacks from occurring and some things are necessary. The downside though to giving up freedoms is the fact that our freedom then becomes limited in some way by the government and we eventually become sick with the thought of them intervening. Sometimes actions taken by government or people limit an individuals freedom in the wrong way. Sometimes because of freedoms expressed radically a large majority of another’s freedoms are limited as well.
Governmental authority is definitely needed when social structures are in place and working so as to oversee that it is working properly. Without the social structures by people to speak out when an injustice is done there are mistakes made by the government and/or people. The government or people then, likely and most of the time, rebel not caring about the choices they make or what other people think. This is where problems arise on both sides and our own closest people fail us. Many people think that government intervening is needed and in most cases when the structures are working properly it is. At other times the government is working perfectly and the social structures are doing just the opposite.
Judgment calls due to people’s background and morals are the biggest issue that comes into play. There are several factors that influence a personal individual’s thoughts, concerns and feelings about several things that affect them. Some have a lack of knowledge and become involved and make wrong choices that affect them and others because they have properly educated themselves yet. Then, there are others who are properly educated and decide to get greedy and pick to make the choices that affect them the most and not the overall welfare of the public.
Social norms are sometimes thrown aside and people do exactly just what they want to and don’t care how it affects them or others. There are several deviances from normality and it just seems that the structures that are supposed to be there by people to look over the bill of rights by the government fail. Sometimes our own government fails us too. Yet, if there is a problem in both structures then the overall welfare and safety are in the same trouble that we would be in if their was a risk of a terrorist attack. But, when the government does intervene it should be balanced and when it is not our false sense of security is also diminished.
Government intervening in a balanced state that is just proper for the safety of most situations such as going through security before getting on an airplane is normal. Yet, sometimes the intervening is too much and is not proper for situations and the government fails us and we lose our freedoms too. The consequences of trading off civil rights and personal freedoms for security is an additional right that works most when our social structures and government is at its best. Yet, when people get greedy and corrupt it fails. When this happens we have less freedoms and a false sense of security. We are then just as vulnerable as we are to a terrorist attack because of our social structures are failing. That is including small people structures and large government. So, in some instances government intervening is a good thing unless it is not used as an additional right that balances our safety. When it is at loss, we are at our worst state and the consequences are just as large as the vulnerability to an attack.