USA Patriot Act Of 2001: The Censorship Of American Rights

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USA Patriot Act of 2001: The Censorship of American Rights On the morning of September 11, 2001, Americans were glued to their television sets as one of the most horrific events occur in the United States of America. This morning is one I remember well. The whole family was glued to the television watching an already inflamed skyscraper go up in black smoke when out of nowhere, a second plane crashed into the twin of the first tower, leaving both in a black ball of smoke and ash as the towers began to collapse. The collapsing of the towers took approximately one hour and forty-two minutes where nearly 3,000 Americans lost their lives. America would soon learn that four passenger airlines were being used by nineteen members of the Islamic …show more content…
With continued restraint, people would become conformists as the government starts to take away individual thought by only allowing its views to shine in Americans. Potter Stewart of the Supreme Court Justice once said, "Censorship... is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime". The US government already acts like this kind of regime, controlling the media through censorship and therefore, the minds of its citizens. Taking over war propaganda is another key example of the government becoming more and more restrictive. After the 9/11 attacks, the Bush Administration launched the War on Terror campaign which was dedicated to "defeating terrorism”. To keep others from speaking against the movement, several measures were taken by the campaign that involved influencing the media to comply with it. First, on October 10, 2001 National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice held a conference with the executives of five networks and urged them not to broadcast any taped statements by Osama bin Laden because they might "arouse... political support in the American viewing audience" against the administration. Next, the media withheld any description of bomb damage or Iraqi losses so that the estimated deaths of thousands of civilians would not strike the hearts of Americans. First-hand accounts from people like Abdul-Ahad who described attacks on cities by American soldiers were also not noted by any major US media outlet and instead, false information that only the terrorists were "accurately targeted... while protecting the lives of innocent civilians" was spread. The efforts made by the campaign not only stopped the public from siding with Iraq, but they also gave way into expanding support for the movement as the number of troops and annual funding increased to 62,000 and 60.2 billion dollars compared to just 5,200 and
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