The nation at the New School: Ten Years After 9/11
INSTRUCTIONS:
Sources-------- Youtube video to watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvTh5hzAAyM Text: "Give Me Liberty! An American History; Vol 2" Author: Foner, Eric ---------------------------------- The DB presentation, linked here [or copy/paste http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvTh5hzAAyM], was produced on September 8, 2011 at the New School Research in New York City, NY. It was sponsored by The Nation, a political journal. The presentation`s duration is approximately 1.5-hours. In this YouTube-hosted video, we witness a discussion among four professionals, each of whom has a connection with The Nation (editor, contributor, board member). Their conversation focuses on how things have changed in the United States since September 11, 2001. They consider questions as: Are we more secure a decade later? Have we been able to strike the right balance between security and liberty between 9/2001 and 9/2011? What is the “ war on terror” after 10 years? To what degree has “fear” come to shape our politics society and culture since 9/11? Have other countries affected by terrorism reacted similarly? Will the war on terror ever end and how? As you listen to this discussion, and, especially where Eric Foner joins in, you will want to consider not only the materials in Chapter 28 of Give Me Freedom!, but what Foner and others have to say about 9/11`s relationship to other periods in American history since the Civil War (Reconstruction, Jim Crow, WW I, the Red Scare, WW II, the Cold War and McCarthy eras). Every question should be answered between 1-2 paragraphs: 1. Political perspectives play a prominent role in much of the commentary distrusted by the media (newspapers, television, radio, blogs, Twitter, etc.) This is nothing new in the American experience, and it`s neither necessarily good nor bad. Discuss your evaluation of the italicized statement above. Do you accept or reject it, and why. Include specific examples in your evaluation. 2. Eric Foner suggests that the history of terrorism in America goes back far before 9/11/2001. Review Foner`s evidence and add provide further evidence of your own. To what degree to these “other” cases of terrorism mirror the conditions related to 9/11? What, if anything, made 9/11 unique? 3. This program included much discussion about the use and abuse of fear in America “now” and “then”. Discuss specific examples of its misuse. See if you can`t come up instances of fear-mongering that are additional to those referenced by the panelists. In his 1933 inaugural, FDR noted that “the only we have to fear is fear itself.” To what fear was he referring and explain this president`s mention of fear as a use or misuse. 4. The panelists seemed to conclude that, in the decade after 9/11, the nation went from a mood of trust in government to one in which most of the country`s political institutions are perceived as unfavorable. Review the evidence of and reasons for this “roller coaster” effect. To what degree do you concur with this analysis, and why? Be specific.
CONTENT:
The Nation at the New School: Ten Years after 9/11Name:Course title:Instructor:Institution:Date Due: The Nation at the New School: Ten Years after 9/11Eric Foner observes that at the moments of disasters, the most patriotic action of all is the steadfast defense of civil liberties and the right to differ. After 9/11 attacks, the US national security became a concern for the state and also major issues in the mainstreams media that were enlisted at the time of the Bush administration`s war against terror. This was the time when free independent media were highly required than ever. It is now ten years since the 9/11 but the same security issues seem to be manifested more especially after the Osama`s killing and Obama`s pursuit of terrorism. In this context, a leading Nation Commentator and analysts involves themselves in a dialogue in the nation with regard to the change that has been realised in the US since 9/11 attacks. After the events of September 9/11, Eric Foner observes that American citizens have been disturbing themselves through the element of fear. According to him, this should not be the case since the intensity of this event was not explicit as that of world war 11. Yet this is the basis at which American historians relate to...
