Is America Any Safer? (18294)

With the insane pandemic impacting everyone worldwide, I thought this would be an interesting read. Americans have the highest sense of patriotic pride I have witnessed by far. Despite the thousands of deaths that continue to rise, so many remain in the streets protesting because they feel it is unfair for the government to close down businesses for their safety reeks of privilege. "Have we succeeded in toughening up what overnight became known as “homeland security”? Absolutely. But not without a series of extravagant boondoggles along the way." One too many boondoggles if you ask me, and it certainly brought out the worst in us. From xenophobia to building walls, America toughened up aggressively. This article goes through the motions of how we healed after the 9/11 incident, starting with the day that followed. This did not particularly interest me and I began to "doze off" while reading, until I reached the section describing how much funding was wasted on failed homeland security programs. America is such a powerful country that is greatly in debt and leeches off of its citizens through taxes. We don't complain too much because we naively believe it is being spent in our best interest, but man are we wrong. $150 billion dollars used practically as an experiment? Billions that could be better used to provide a better healthcare system, pay off our debts, or even fix simple roads that have been under construction for years but never seem to be finished! The rest of the article did ease my mind on this matter, but I couldn't help but wonder what would happen to us in the next few months. Will the $1,200 be enough to keep the lights on and keep us at bay? If there is no solution soon, will they continue to hand out more money that we will of course need to pay back one it is all over? What about those who received nothing simply because of their age and have no one to help them? I can honestly say I'm disappointed with my country and how it handles high pressure situations.