Newton

Dan Newton
Stacie Weatbrook
English 1010
4/6/2016

Is it Safe to be an American?

With terrorism becoming more of a threat with each day, you see another attack just about
every time you turn on the television or read the paper. So with this fear of when or where will it
happen again, I wonder how are Americans living with this fear? Does it really affect everyone
the same or are some less concerned then others? Does it affect the way people are living
everyday life, are they fearful of going to large sports events, investing their money into the
stock market?
Alnatour, Omar. 10 Reasons You Should Not Fear Muslims. Huffingtonpost. 26 Jan. 2016.
Web. 19 April, 2016
Omar Alnatour describes as a child being fearful of ladybugs because they look different. As he
grew older he found ladybugs are very beneficial to us and not harmful. He compares this to
Americans being afraid of Muslims simply because they look different and if they took the time
to learn about them they would find they are harmless. Alnatour explains not all Muslims are
terrorists, according to the FBI, 94 percent of terrorist attacks from 1980 to 2005 in the U.S. were
carried out by non-Muslims. Muslims hate ISIS just as much as you do says Alnatour. Muslims
are the largest victims of ISISs terror and largest victims of terror in general according to the
U.S. State Department.
Alnatour gives many statistics on things to be more fearful of than Muslims of which I have
found death from a terrorist extremely slim. I think he gives very good insight into how many
Americans view Muslims. Omar Alnatour is a humanitarian and his writings have been featured

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on CNN, Buzzfeed, and The Independent to name a few. I find these claims to be authentic.
Clement, Scott. Juliet, Eilpen. Americans more fearful of a major terror attack in the
U.S., poll finds. Washington Post. 20 Nov. 2015. Web. 16 April, 2016.
Washington post-ABC News poll, Americans fears of terrorist attack on U.S. soil risen sharply
following attack in Paris which killed 130. Fully 83 percent of registered voters say they believe
a terrorist attack in the United States resulting in large casualties is likely in the near future,
rising from 73 percent in a Quinnipiac University poll earlier this month asking the same
question. Forty percent say a major attack in the United States is very likely, up eight
percentage points since last weeks attacks to match the record level of concern recorded after
the 2005 subway bombings in Britain. The publics ratings of Obama, dealing with terrorism
has dropped significantly to less than 40 percent. Some of these concerns are related to refugees
coming to the United States, Americans do not have confidence that the government could
properly screen these applicants.
After reading through all the different facts about how unlikely an American will be killed by
terrorism, there still seems to be fear in America. I wonder if the news and media has the biggest
effect on our fears. The Washington Post is one of the most popular and reputable papers in
America.

McClatchy. The Terrorism Statistics every American needs to Hear.

Globalresearch. 19 May, 2014. Web. 15 April, 2016.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-terrorism-statistics-every-american-needs-to-hear/5382818
McClatchy says that Americans traveling abroad are far more likely to die from car crashes

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than terrorists. The U.S. Department of State reports that only 17 U.S. citizens were killed
worldwide as a result of terrorism in 2011. That figure includes deaths in Afghanistan, Iraq and
all other theaters of war. Alan W. Harris Senior Research Scientist for the Space Science
Institute says the odds of being killed by a terrorist attack is about the same as being hit by an
asteroid. I understand what he is trying to say, but I dont know if that is exactly true.

The article explains how unlikely death from a terrorist really is. Whether its in the United
States or abroad, the fear of death from terrorists should be one of your last worries. The authors
(Foreign Affairs and the State Department) lead me to believe his credibility on the issue
Naqvi, Zehra. Whats It Like Being Muslim in America. Huffingtonpost. 16 Nov, 2015.
Web. 19 April, 2016.
Zehra Naqvi is an attorney, a community organizer and a female Pakistani-American Muslim
immigrant. Naqvi says Being Muslim in America means being identified by only one aspect of
my identity. She says she is teaching her nephews and nieces that this is the land of opportunity,
and to achieve their potential they must work hard. Naqvi claims Im scared of terrorist attacks.
Im scared I will be attacked for wearing hijab. Im scared my mosque might be attacked. Im
scared law enforcement will look upon my loved ones with increased scrutiny on the streets, at
airports, and in police stations. Im scared of how routine the concept of surveillance has become
in my community, and Im scared that were getting it from all sides and theres no end in sight.
With all the fears she has Naqvi expresses how proud she is to be an American, including writing
pieces like this.

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This article is very credible to me. Some of the most affected people in America from terrorists
are Muslims and Naqvi has a first hand experience with the effects. Naqvi is a well educated
Muslim-American, I trust the accounts of her fears of terrorism as an American.
Picardo, Elvis. Dont Hide from The Reality of How Terrorism Affects the Economy.
Investopedia.com. n.d. Web. 21 April, 2016.
In this article, Elvis Picardo talks about the cost of terrorism on the economy. Picardo says The
direct costs are shorter-term in nature and include the destruction of life and property, responses
from emergency services providers, restoration of systems and infrastructure, and the provision
of temporary living assistance. One of the long-term costs associated with the effects of
terrorism is to consider the billions of hours expended by millions of passengers in airport
security lines over the years.
The New York Times published a survey that the true cost of the 9/11 attack is $3.3 trillion, the
New York Times notes that it was the U.S. response, including the War on Terror which accounts
for 95 percent of these costs. Picardo claims, Since 9/11 terrorism has re-emerged as a potent
threat. The economic impact of a major act of terrorism is likely to be significant. Although,
from past attacks there has been an initial drop, the resilience of consumers and investors will
stabilize markets.
This article shows how devastating terrorism acts can be on the financial market. The costs of
the physical damage usually are minor compared to the loss of production a business can
perform. Picardo is a charted financial analyst and has more than two decades of experience.
Investopedia is a well known site for finance and investing, with over 40 million page views a
month. Which gives Picardos claims credibility to me.

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Plumer, Brad. Eight Facts About Terrorism in The United States.
The Washington Post, 16 April 2013. Web 4 April, 2016.

As the picture shows just about everywhere in America has a potential for
terrorism. Though the picture might look alarming this represents all attacks,
lethal and non-lethal. The odds of dying from a terrorist attack are far lower
than just about anything else. One in 20 million are the odds of an American
dying from terrorist attack in the last five years, according to economists.
With that, because terror attacks are designed to put fear into us, they loom

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much larger in our consciousness, they get more attention.
This article by Brad Plumer really opened my eyes to just how rare it is to
become a victim of terrorism. Yes, some statistics look shocking, but chances
of being a victim are very low. The findings in his article were backed by
charts and statistics found from the Global Terrorism Database. Also being
published in the Washington Post makes me believe that it is a good source.
Salo, Jackie. Americans Fear of Terrorism at its Peak Since 9/11 Ibtimes.com 12/10/15.
Web. 4 April, 2016.
With the recent attacks on American soil, what was the level of fear for Americans. Salo says,
Fears of terrorism in the United States are at a level not seen since Sept. 11,
2001. A New York Times/CBS News poll says Americans were surveyed in
the wake of attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, as both are
thought to have had ties to the Islamic State group. They found 79 percent of
surveyed believed an attack was somewhat likely or very likely in the next
few months. It also found around 57 percent of respondents are not
confident in the way the President has been approaching terrorism.
These were some surprising numbers to me, but I wonder if these are so high
because of how recent these attacks were. I am not familiar with the author
of this article, but she does give statistics on Americans who were polled on
their fear of terrorism in America. So this author seems like a credible source
to me.

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Yoder, Stephanie. Do NOT cancel your travel plans because of terrorism. TwentySomething Travel. 23 Nov, 2015. Web. 4 April, 2016
In this article she is commenting on a US State Department released a world wide travel alert.
The quote reads U.S. citizens should exercise vigilance when in public places or using
transportation. Be aware of immediate surroundings and avoid large crowds or crowed places.
Exercise particular caution during the holiday season and at holiday festivals or events. This
alert is for 3 months which happens to fall during the holidays, Yoder claiming this is not
feasible or reasonable. The point is we cant hide in fear and let the terrorists win. Now you
need to use your head and not jump on a plane to Syria, there are real dangers. You have to live
life and enjoy it to the fullest.
I think after reading her article it has shown me that people are still going on with life not hiding
in fear. If you want go visit foreign countries Americans should not hesitate after all, terrorist
should be at the bottom of the list of bad things that can happen. Yoder is Editor-in-Chief and
owner of Twenty-Something Travel, and writes about her travel experiences. I believe her
credibility as an American.
After my research my views of how terrorism has changed the lives of Americans has changed a
lot. I see that everyone has been effected whether they realize it or not, the extra security at a
sports event or long lines at the airport. Though fear of an attack on American soil is on the
minds of many Americans I believe we still choose to live or lives without letting fear consume
us.

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