War
As in wartime, the recent September 11th attacks have caused many Americans to wonder about the personal sacrifices to be made in order to keep the nation "safe and free." With mixed results, it has become a common practice throughout history to restrict personal freedoms in the name of national security. Many questions arise from this process: Where is the line drawn? If liberties are restricted do they ever truly return? If it is true that we are doomed to repeat history if we fail to learn from it, an examination into the circumstances of the Japanese American internment in 1942 may inform the ways to most effectively deal with the security concerns faced by Americans today. There is a paradox in American theories of democracy and freedom. As the United States has fought abroad in the name of freedom, we have simultaneously restricted the personal freedoms of persons on domestic soil. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt engaged in battle in World War II, it was not only to retaliate against the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor but to bring down the Nazi regime that was systematically murdering people in Europe. At the same time, Roosevelt had nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans, the majority of whom were American citizen
and unfairly denied Japanese Americans and their families fundamental liberties during World War II. Though they were initially provided with food, resources and even schooling, the accommodations in the camps were substandard and many camp residents grew sick and/or died during their stay. " Within four months, West Coast residents were being evacuated. There are a lot of things going on now, and there's a lot of discrimination. " While members of the War Department judged the foreign threat to the West Coast, Congress held hearings to substantiate an internment. These new measures, included in the USA Patriot Act, delicately trace the line between national security and civil liberties. The Bush administration has a difficult task ahead, to keep Americans safe while maintaining the freedom which makes this country great. Speaking to a group of student activists, he said, "Don't be afraid to talk about being an American. "These Japanese Americans, half of whom were children, were incarcerated for up to four years, without due process of law or any factual basis. As checks have been distributed to over 60, 000 survivors of the internment camps, they have been accompanied by a letter of apology from the sitting President: "The United States unjustly interned, evacuated, or relocated you and many other Japanese Americans. The hypothesis that the government might conduct surveillance or use illegal wiretaps to monitor groups or individuals that it suspects of domestic terrorism seemed foreign before September 11th, and now has become a way to gain more information about potential suspects.
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,
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Acceptance Essays
