Moral panic erupted after 9/11, lasted for years, and is still prevalent in American society. A moral panic is defined by its 5 characteristics: concern, hostility, consensus, disproportionality, and volatility. The characteristics are defined as:
Concern – a potential or imagined threat
Hostility – disapproval towards the actions of those who are responsible for inflicting them
Consensus – agreement among the majority of people that the actions perpetrated are inappropriate
Disproportionality – a greater perception of harm than usual
Volatility – fear and panic evolves immediately
The most predominant characteristics still existing in America today because of 9/11 are hostility, consensus, and volatility. The hostility is directed towards Muslims, Arabs, and “Radical Islamic Terrorists.” The consensus is that terrorism is a serious problem, and it should be a high priority in terms of national security. Last, the volatility is still present because American citizens are more terrified about terrorism today than they ever have been before.
9/11 changed America in ways that today’s children will never understand. Prior to 9/11, the Department of Homeland Security did not exist. It is a department that was created by the Bush-administration shortly after 9/11, and its primary goal is to “ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards.” This new department combined 22 already existing programs/agencies, and started new programs like ICE – Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Deportations in America have doubled since 9/11. As I mentioned in my blog last week, the people we have to worry about the most, in terms of terrorism, are the people who were born here, in America. However, new programs such as the Secure Communities program, were given the go-ahead to deport any undocumented immigrants in the criminal justice system, whether convicted of a crime or not.
The “War on Terror” has fueled hostility towards Muslims and Arabs in the United States, and increased horrible stereotypes about Muslims and the Islam religion. Islamophobia is a term used to express the fear and volatility United States citizens direct towards the Muslim people. While recent Pew Research polls show that attitudes towards Muslims are warming up, they are still the least “approved of” religion in the United States a decade-and-a-half later.
Airport security has drastically increased since 9/11, and is most likely the biggest change in the everyday lives of American citizens. People travelling on airplanes prior to 9/11 never had to take their shoes off. They could carry any amount of liquid they desired through airport security, and they were even allowed to have pocket knives. Because of the consensus between Americans that terrorism is such a large issue, the benefits of airport security outweigh the costs of long security lines and throwing away a bottle of water before undergoing the metal detector screening.
But even with all of these relatively new safeguards, polls show that Americans are more afraid of terrorist attacks today than they ever have been:
“40 percent of Americans now believe the country is more vulnerable to terrorism than it was in 2001, the highest ever.”
So who is to blame for this fear? Should we point to our nation’s leaders maybe? Or perhaps to the mass media?
This quote by President Donald Trump (from June 2016 about the Orlando night club shooting) is just one example of how the fear of terrorist attacks is so prominent in America today, and how volatility has not dwindled since 9/11:
“If we don’t get tough, and if we don’t get smart, and fast, we’re not going to have our country anymore… There will be nothing – absolutely nothing – left.”
The fear that President Trump is instilling in people’s minds is only going to further the moral panic that has ensued in the past 15-16 years.
“It’s gotten to a point where it’s not even being reported. And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesn’t want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that.”
The quote above from President Trump is a statement claiming that the media does not cover terrorist attacks. While this false statement most likely has underlying motives to generate support for his ban on immigrants and citizens (mentioned in my first blog), this quote from the President will only further instill fear in U.S. citizen’s minds about terrorism.
Coverage of terrorist attacks and aftermaths receive plenty of air-time, even though the media is sometimes hesitant to give terrorists the attention they are seeking. Unfortunately, terrorism receives so much air-time that Americans are still in a moral panic about the issue of terrorism. The consensus, hostility, and volatility shared between United States citizens will not diminish any time soon.
Terrorism in the 21st Century 
9/11 left impact on our nation that we will never be able to get over. Our current president fueling the fire of hatred towards this religion. Donald Trump is being absurd about how every Muslim is a terrorist and we need to crack down on them. He has personally gone to far already and need to take a step back. As for airport security I don’t mind waiting that extra time though to ensure everyone’s safety. I question though why everyone is so focused on radical Islamic terrorist when they are the least percentage of terrorist inside America? Why don’t we focus on other terrorist instead of pinpointing the blame on Muslims? I’m glad the Department of Homeland Security was made after 9/11 and think that was one of the best things Busch did. I never new about moral panic until reading your blog and it was honestly very interesting.
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Alexa,
I completely agree with your ideas presented in this blog and I enjoyed learning about all of the statistics and information you provided. I also do not understand why our government is not focusing on threats that are coming from within our own country. I was amazed when I came to college and started learning about this topic and how the “typical” terrorist attacks are very rare compared to domestic terrorist attacks that occur. I was influenced by the media to believe that foreign terrorist attacks were a high risk threat and it bothers me that the media and my surroundings shaped my mind and caused me to believe these incorrect statements. Especially when living 20 minutes away from Boston the day of the Boston Marathon bombing I was personally affected and was using this event, along with 9/11, as “proof” that terrorist attacks were always carried out by foreign, specifically Middle Eastern groups.
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I genuinely enjoyed your post. I hadn’t a clue what a moral panic was or its five distinct characteristics until your blog post, so I appreciate you educating me on the topic. Unfortunately, we live in a time of paralyzing fear of any possible attack on a group of people, especially in a highly populated area. My mother frequently reminds me that “we didn’t have to worry about unattended bags on the subway”. This combination of post 9/11 stigmas and Islamophobia is paralyzing the American public into thinking “all Muslims and Middle Easterners are bad”. This ideology is completely ludicrous and inaccurate, and I agree with you in the sense that the media heightens these stereotypes. Although, I do agree that airport security should be tight and appropriate, some of the “random screening” procedures to identify possible threats are biased and racially targeted. I also believe we, as a collective nation, should be identifying possible terrorist attacks and terrorist groups in our own country. There are many more perpetrators than just Middle Eastern individuals who complete terrorist attacks on citizens in the United States. They’re also not just international people or groups. It can be argued that domestic terrorism is as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than international terrorism.
I enjoyed your post, keep up the good work!
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