In his 2002 state of the union address, George W. Bush declared, "the price of freedom and security is high, it is never too high. Whatever it costs to defend our country, we will pay." His statement is inspiring, however it is dangerously vague when defense of our country eases into defense against all terrorism through offensive means.
The danger in this is when Qutb as quoted by R. Scott Appleby in "History in the Fundamentalist Imagination" states "we must change the meaning of the word 'defense' and mean 'defense of man'."
Considering the American mindset, the nuances in such a position, and the words of Qutb, what do we do? Does America own up to its actions and claim defense of man? Or does it quit offensive actions against threatening enemies? How do we keep America in check to live out the identity that it claims? Does it need to?
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