Our world was changed dramatically 10 years ago by the events of 9/11. The ramparts of our revered America were breached by airborne fanatic terrorists with no regard for innocent human life, or indeed for their own lives. This dreadful assault on ordinary citizens pursuing ordinary endeavors obliged us to rethink many of our basic assumptions about national defense and homeland security while maintaining preservation of our own treasured rights and liberties.
The United States stands throughout the world as the prime exemplar of the rule of law, human rights and a democratic political system. What we enjoy, and often take for granted, in our nation is looked on with covetous eyes by many of the world’s people. We do not live under economic conditions corrupted by despotic rulers, and we are not fearful of the knock on the door at night. Most important, we are able to speak out against injustice and we are not denied the means to effect necessary changes in our political and governmental systems, a denial which lies at the root of much of the recently erupted unrest in northern Africa, the Middle East and other areas of the world.
