PARTICIPANTS in the ill-fated Boston Marathon could not have known or anticipated that a fatal bombing awaited them at the finish line. This incident again raises the ugly spectre of terrorism, which knows no bounds.
We have previously said that although we are not in the line of fire, the Caribbean is not entirely immune from such horror. We need to pay particular attention to national security, particularly the drug trade that engulfs us so much that the focus is on establishing special drug courts.
Nonetheless, a terrorist bombing at the Boston Marathon is a big news story by any measure; and it happened in a disordered media climate that’s changing so rapidly that no one can keep up with it.
Many in the United States have wondered why this story drove the whole country nuts. Some have said it was because Americans traded rights for “security” after the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers and didn’t get either.
To some extent, that is correct because there is still considerable paranoia about terror; and America’s political culture is so fundamentally broken and divided that all sides seized on the story as a weapon long before any idea emerged about who was behind the crime.
As one columnist noted, it would be almost too perfect if the loaded question of whether the Boston bombings were foreign or domestic terrorism turns out not to have a clear answer, as now seems possible: a little bit of both, but not quite either.
The media spectacle of fear and unreason delivered – via television, newspapers and social media – the nationwide hysteria that made a vicious act perpetrated by two apparently disaffected youths with backpack bombs seem like an “existential threat” to the most powerful nation in the world.
After the 9/11 tragedy, Americans were corralled to surrender some of their rights and civil liberties (except the sacrosanct Second Amendment) in exchange for a lot of hyper-patriotic tough talk, the promise of “security” and freedom.
America’s constitutional rights are not considered absolute and can be revoked by the government at any time. The supposed trade-off for that sacrifice was that protection would be guaranteed from terrorism and low-level warfare that is nearly an everyday occurrence in many parts of the world.
Notwithstanding, the spectacular response by law enforcement and emergency medical teams is a signal lessons for all Barbadians. There is no doubt that the memory of the 9/11 attacks still continues to haunt Americans; as well it should.
However, the refrain by Benjamin Franklin is most apt and sums up their predicament in a single sentence: “Those who would give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
