Homeland Insecurity: The Emotional Response That Expanded
| Title: | Homeland Insecurity: The Emotional Response That Expanded |
| Author: | Herrera, Thomas |
| Abstract: | This study will examine the emotional response that led to the expansion of the federal bureaucracy of the U .S . Government in the aftermath of the September 11 , 2001 terrorist attacks . The federal bureaucracy was expanded in order to prevent future acts of terrorism on the U .S . homeland and execute policies related to the War on Terror . The terrorist attacks of September 11 , 2001 had an immediate and overwhelming emotional effect upon the American public and prompted countless memorials and services across the United States and around the world . Gratitude towards uniformed public -safety workers (notably firefighters and police officers ) was widely expressed in light of both the drama of the risks taken on the scene at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon , as well as the high death toll among their ranks in New York City on that day . The number of casualties among the emergency services was exceptional compared to routine disasters , with an unprecedented number of the emergency personnel responding to the attacks losing their lives . The media , in print , in radio , on the internet , and on television proceeded immediately to provide continuous live coverage that continued unabated and focused on the attacks for months . From the moment of the attacks , there was a framing of events that focused narrowly on reaction from high -profile leaders . These reports , at times , offered speculation on the anticipated actions and statements of President George W . Bush and of New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani . Across the media , President Bush was characterized as " ;facing his greatest test , " ; and there was conjecture as to what Bush should do " ;politically . " ; Anecdotally , the media conducted polls and surveys that attempted to measure the reaction of the American public . Many of those surveyed demanded a direct military response against those responsible for the attacks . The media repeatedly televised images of the attacks , official responses by the local and federal government , images of firefighters and police officers on the scene , as well as images of suffering and personal grief (such as the countless "missing" flyers and signs of lost loved ones . Moreover , the print media circulated U .S . newspapers with bold and large font -type headlines on September 12 , 2001 , that read "Acts of Mass Murder" (New York Newsday ) , "It's War" (New York Daily News ) , "A Day of Infamy" (Tulsa World ) , "Freedom Under Siege" (Albany Times Union ) , "America's Darkest Day" (Detroit Free Press ) , and "Beyond Belief" (St . Paul Pioneer Press ) . It was against this emotional backdrop and its response that the federal bureaucracy began to expand . Federal government officials (members of the United States Congress , Cabinet Officers , and President George W . Bush ) reacted to the emotional climate by proposing and passing legislation and signing Presidential Executive Orders whose objectives were the prevention of future terrorist attacks against the U .S . homeland , but whose result was an expanded federal bureaucracy that perhaps , has yielded no tangible or quantifiable results in the prevention of future terrorist attacks , not provided a mechanism for accountability , not improved coordination between federal agencies , or disallowed innovation or imagination in its policy directives . Both President Bush and numerous members of the U .S . Congress delivered numerous impassioned speeches appealing to the emotions of the American public , employed patriotic language and themes , and sought to rally the nation in a manner akin to that of the efforts by President Lincoln during the Civil War and President Franklin D . Roosevelt during World War II . Without much public discourse or dissent , the federal government in the emotional climate following the 9 /11 terrorist attacks began the process of augmenting the existing federal bureaucracy with additional layers of bureaucracy . The U .S . political leadership held that the emotional trauma endured by the American public was motive enough to expand the scope of the federal government and bureaucratize even further the intelligence , law enforcement , and national security infrastructure . It may be said that the increased federal bureaucracy with its multiple layers of authority and inability to foster coordination and communication between agencies may be responsible for providing terrorists a means by which to stage another attack against the United States at some future date . America has been warned against a "failure of imagination" , yet the expansive bureaucracy is leading the nation along the same path . |
| URI: |
http : / /hdl .handle .net /10106 /530
http : / /hdl .handle .net /10106 /530 |
| Date: | 2007-08-23 |
Citation
(December 2005).
Homeland Insecurity: The Emotional Response That Expanded.
University of Texas at Arlington. Available electronically from
http : / /hdl .handle .net /10106 /530
.
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