The Tragedy of 9/11, Patriot Act, and the Culture of Fear

• In Event: 477 - Section on Crime, Law, and Deviance Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 15. Culture, Media, and Socialization 1

Abstract

The tragedy of September 11, 2001 immediately plunged the country and the world into a complex journey of soul searching. The action of Congress in passing the U.S. Patriot Act soon after the tragedy best reflects this complex journey of soul searching the country and the world embarked on, although, reluctantly. The paper will address the complex reality the war on terror created, which is reflected in the climate of the culture of fear. The political, social, cultural, economical, and ideological implications of this culture of fear will be explained in this paper. The societal reaction or some time referred to as the labeling perspective, will provide the theoretical framework to help us shed light on the complex reality of the culture of fear. The basic premise of this paper is that the culture of fear and the role the mass media played in facilitating and fostering this culture of fear reflects a dangerous trend the country and the world embarked on where civil liberty is being sacrificed for the sake of a sense of security or perhaps better labeled a false sense of security.

Author

• Amani Michael Awwad, State University of New York-Canton