GAINESVILLE - The Director of Legal Studies at Brenau University said America's reaction to the 9/11 attacks was what was to be expected from any group of people suffering such an event: "We cleaned up, we buried our dead, we pulled together as a country..."
Dr. Ken Frank's comments from a 2002 interview on the first anniversary of 9/11 were recalled Monday as the nation marked the fifth anniversary of the attacks.
"...some of our political divisions were minimized," he added, "and we stood behind our leader, President Bush, and we consolidated some of our allies into an effort to fight against terrorism."
But, Dr. Frank was already questioning some of the laws enacted in the wake of 9/11 - laws criticized in some circles as promoting secrecy.
"Secrecy is the enemy of democracy," he declared.
He also questioned those high ranking government officials, who just one year after the attacks, were already criticizing anyone who was critical of the way the war on terrorism was being conducted or the government's reaction to the attacks.
"We're a country founded on dissent," Frank said. "We dissented from what the English wanted to do. We have to remember that free speech and free press and free expression are the very hallmark of the American democracy."
All this week, AccessNorthGa.com is looking back at how northeast Georgians reacted to 9/11 and the actions some of them undertook themselves to help the people of New York in the days immediately following the attacks.
Sunday
October 13th, 2024
8:18AM
