September 15, 2006 -Vol. 35 Issue 1

Editorial: Airlines take caution too far
By Daniel Weilert, jr.
For the editorial board

Five years ago, the nation was dealt a serious blow as planes flew into the World Trade Center. Since then, airport security has become stricter. Regulations limit the amount of and types of items passengers can carry aboard aircraft and require increased screening for passengers who do not have proper identification. These regluations have been enacted because Americans expect the government to protect us, but is it possible for the government to go too far in the name of security?

One of the main problems we are facing in this country is balancing civil liberties and national security. In 2002, President Bush signed an order authorizing the NSA to monitor U.S. citizens and foreign nationals in the United States. The NSA has monitored all communication of thousands under the program.

Cartoon by Haley Huffman

Many people are speaking up about how the U.S. government is going overboard with keeping our nation safe from terrorists. As high school students in Kansas, we feel that while some of the precautions that have taken place are understandable for the safety of America, our government should remember the freedoms that America was founded on and try not to infringe upon them any more than is absolutely necessary.

Everyone can agree that the nation has become more aware and cautious of other suspicious or shady figures that might be a potential enemy. Our government wants the country to be out of harm’s way, but it should be careful so that the freedoms that Americans cherish are not completely abandoned.

Debate about the movie World Trade Center has centered around the date of its release and has brought about controversy for many Americans. Many people believe that the movie was released to the public too early, even though its original release date was held back for over a year.

There are numerous reasons for not wanting the life-like drama to be reenacted on the big screen five years after its occurrence, but the main reason given by many people not to release the movie is that it would evoke too many emotions for the victims of the terror attacks and their families.

I believe it is good that the movie came out when it did because it shows Americans and people around the world a new view of what happened on 9-11. This movie will also not let people forget about the terror of that day and its effects. The victims of the attacks and their families could watch the movie to see for themselves what happened on that day five years ago. If they are worried about emotions they could simply not watch the movie.

Even if the movie were to be released ten years after the attacks on the World Trade Center, it would still be difficult to watch for many Americans; so why not watch it now while the events are clear in people’s minds.

It is a good thing that this movie has been released to the public, and people should go watch it. Watching the events of this movie unfold will help people think about what the world has gone through and what we, as people, have to do to make the United States better place to live, work, and have families.

World Trade Center is an emotional, impacting film. The movie is a true story of the survivors from the tragedy and shows the story of 9-11 from the lives of the people involved.

The movie primarily focuses on the lives of two strong, determined men who were Port Authority Policemen in New York. Their names were John McLaughlin (played by Nicolas Cage) and Will Jimeno (played by Michael Pena).

The two men go into the Towers to help evacuate people when the two Towers collapsed, but then they get pinned under 20 to 30 feet of rubble. Because of this, they endure hours of agonizing pain while waiting to be rescued. McLaughlin and Jimeno talk to each other during the terrifying ordeal and keep each other alive while they wonder if they are even going to live through the tragic collapse.

The scenes show how everyone was injured and dieing and how the debris was ruining the city piece by piece. Much of the footage is very lifelike. People were shown stumbling out of the building covered with burns, concrete, and other debris.
The movie shows how the tragedy impacted the survivors’ wives, families, and friends as they waited impatiently to know if loved ones were still alive and okay.

Both husbands and wives were constantly worrying about the other and what they last said or did to one another. It was also difficult for the children to know what was going on. The entire situation was extremely hard on everyone.

All in all, World Trade Center is a very emotional movie that helps viewers understand the extent of what the people in New York and all the people involved in the tragedy were going through at that hard time.

I would recommend watching World Trade Center because it helps people in the audience realize how impacting the events of that day really were.

Cub Voices

What was your first reaction to 9-11?

Chad Phillips, sr., “I was suprised that we could be attacked in our own country.”	Joey Leroy, jr., “I wasn't really worried about it because it wasn't really close, but it was a very tragic moment.”
Crystal Crays, so., “I was over on Kavai at the time, I couldn't believe anyone would do something so cruel.”	Alexis Hosak, fr., “ I was really shocked; it was scary to hear that something like that happened.”
Lance Carlson, teacher, “9-11 was an awful shock. I was in class; we saw it on TV in the library. Kids were crying, not believing what we saw.”

Back to top

Back To Cubtracks