As explained by the video, Top Secret America, the United States has changed the way we view Terrorism and react to it after the attack on 9/11. The CIA, for example, played a major role in the operation against al-Qaeda, but in order to do so, they were given the power that belonged to the army. Many people were angered because of the President's decision. They believed that when the CIA worked instead of the army, the actions were able to be enacted without being approved. I do believe that the government is trying to help its citizens by creating more security and more regulations, however, it also seems that terrorist attacks are becoming more frequent, or at least more public. In 2016, there were over 100 terrorist attacks around the world. Some of the most well-known were bombings in Brussels, a mass shooting in Orlando, and a truck attack in Nice. Our government is doing the best they seemingly can, but unfortunately, it is not enough. In the "FBI Criticized for Collecting Racial and Ethnic Data" article, the ACLU is accusing the FBI of targeting Americans “based on false stereotypes ascribing criminal propensity to minority communities.” The group cites a 2009 Detroit FBI field office memo as an example, which states that many of the 40 groups the State Department has designated as terrorist organizations originate in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, and says that “because Michigan has a large Middle-Eastern and Muslim population, it is prime territory for attempted radicalization and recruitment by these terrorist groups.” In the "NYPD Secretly Monitored City’s Muslim 'Partners'" article, the Associated Press revealed that the New York Police Department’s intelligence unit secretly monitored a Brooklyn-based imam because of his “threat potential,” despite his never having been charged with any crime. Racial profiling such as this is unfair and unnecessary. When someone is profiling, they pay no attention to who the actual person is, in favor of their physical features. Stereotyping is a very inaccurate method of protection and does not help stop terrorist attacks in any way.
This artifact is an essay explaining the ways we view terrorism. Nobody would ever expect an American to be a terrorist against their own country and that is one of the problems. Americans have such a strong sense of patriotism that no one would ever think someone would even dare attacking our "perfect" land of independence and freedom. Profiling is the opposite of that and it is equally as bad. We are quick to blame people who are different from us or don't display the ideal of an "American" citizen.