Statue of Liberty
Nearly 8 years after being closed to the public after the 11 Sept 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States of America the symbol of freedom to tens of millions of immigrants and native born Americans has reopened.
I recall climbing to the crown well before the 9/11 events. Visiting the Statue of Liberty since 9/11 and looking up from the base and pedestal with my kids was anticlimactic. Even more disheartening was the excessive level of security. That exceeded anything I've ever seen even in our paranoid airports.
James Madison, one of our nation's Founding Fathers, said it well:
"If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."
Restricting access to a symbol of American Liberty, the Statue of Liberty, surrounding her with an army of police and security forces, suggests fear.
"We have nothing to fear, but fear itself."
The attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon were a symbolic strike against the United States and created outrage and anger leading to the fall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein's dictatorship in Iraq. An attack on the Statue of Liberty would, in my opinion, evoke equal or much greater indignation, patriotism, and response against the enemies of freedom.
What is the 'right' answer to the problem of security versus liberty?
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness - Always!
I recall climbing to the crown well before the 9/11 events. Visiting the Statue of Liberty since 9/11 and looking up from the base and pedestal with my kids was anticlimactic. Even more disheartening was the excessive level of security. That exceeded anything I've ever seen even in our paranoid airports.
James Madison, one of our nation's Founding Fathers, said it well:
"If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."
Restricting access to a symbol of American Liberty, the Statue of Liberty, surrounding her with an army of police and security forces, suggests fear.
"We have nothing to fear, but fear itself."
The attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon were a symbolic strike against the United States and created outrage and anger leading to the fall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein's dictatorship in Iraq. An attack on the Statue of Liberty would, in my opinion, evoke equal or much greater indignation, patriotism, and response against the enemies of freedom.
What is the 'right' answer to the problem of security versus liberty?
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness - Always!
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