Let's Get Real and Do Something to Protect America

Repetition often sells us on an idea. Once again, after a disturbing, horrific act of terrorism, we hear that if we should go about our normal routines because the terrorists want to change our fundamental beliefs in freedom and civil liberties.

Today, I ask, “Who says so?” 

What is the source of this often-repeated mantra that the goal of the terrorists is for us to restrict the wide range of freedom and civil liberties of Western societies? Is there a document recovered by intelligence forces or some intercept where terrorists made such a statement? Did a Gitmo prisoner crack under interrogation and say, “Our goal is to make you conduct more security checks. Our goal is for you to force Muslims out of your country. Our goal is to see you focusing on people from Muslim countries – what you would call racial profiling.”

It seems more likely to me that some well-intentioned person simply made up this ‘don’t change anything or the terrorists win’ nonsense. It sounds so Pollyannaish and politically correct that I’ve come to believe this is all simply a liberal chant that has no source in the world of terrorists.

What Do the Powerful People that Provoke Terrorism Want?

Even a cursory knowledge of the motivation of today’s terrorists reveals that they want us to stop engaging in military actions in the Muslim world. They want us to stop aiding Israel. They want us to stop selling arms. They want us to stop exploiting their resources. To this end, they have used religion to draw in ‘converts’ to their cause. Identifying the United States as ‘the Great Satan’ is part of that effort. In truth, I doubt that terrorists care about our promiscuity or lifestyle. They simply use it to bring in more ‘converts’ to their cause. I doubt that many of the terrorist leaders believe in the Muslim faith of the Koran. These are simply tools to them. I also doubt that the goal of their acts of terror is to force the Western world to beef up security and to force us to stop immigrants from certain Muslim countries where terrorists flourish. They want us out of their part of the world. They want us to stop supporting Israel and to stop selling arms.

What Can We Do?

The term, ‘for the greater good’ comes to mind as I watch the latest act of terrorism. Shed the political correctness and for the greater good, stop fretting too much about civil liberties and focus on the greater good.

Although President Abraham Lincoln did not explain in great detail why he suspended the writ of habeas corpus and locked up suspected disloyal Americans during our Civil War, I can imagine him thinking that should we lose the war with the South, the temporary loss of a few personal freedoms will be the least of our worries.

Regardless of what or why President Lincoln did, in today’s world of terror it is time to ignore all of the politically correct concerns and to return to common sense.

In most instances, we know what Middle Eastern terrorists look like. Profiling is not a dirty word. There was a time in law enforcement where police officers were trained in profiling methods to identify criminals. I am not talking about ‘driving when Black’, but criminal profiling. At our airports, focus on every person who fits a profile of a terrorist. (Are some terrorists White? Could a 97-year old wheelchair bound woman be a terrorist? Of course. Although profiling is not foolproof, it is certainly the most likely way to catch terrorists.

Inevitably, there will be lawsuits and court injunctions. The Executive Branch can request an emergency hearing in front of the Supreme Court and speedily get relief from any lower court order.
What if the Supreme Court rules against the President in such a case? Let’s not ‘what if’ and let us take firm and reasonable actions.

The President must set the tone of how we ignore political correctness and to what degree we temporarily surrender our civil liberties. Law enforcement must act responsibly and quickly and severely punish all law enforcement officers that ‘cross the line’.

In today’s technological world, we must invest in the best scanning and detection equipment available at our borders, our airports and at every seaport. (Our seaports are so vulnerable that foreign armies and weapons can be delivered by the boxcar).

A national identification card should be required to receive any federal or state assistance or service. This all in one card can serve as our Social Security Card, Voter Registration Card, and Social Services Card. Fingerprints and DNA samples and computer chips ensure the integrity of these cards. Bring technology to bear and create these cards. I have nothing to hide and do not care what my government knows about me.