Abstract: On September 11, terrorists attacked not only the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and rural Pennsylvania. They also attacked American ideologies and the sense of security that they had built over hundreds of years. Before these tragedies occurred, Americans considered themselves individuals and valued the remnants of their individual lives that technology had not stolen from them. Now Americans are uniting in mourning and, in the process, changing their views about the individual and the balance between privacy and security. This article examines how America has changed its stance on the privacy debate. The target of the 9/11 hijackers was not the World Trade Center, nor the Pentagon or the White House. The purpose of the attacks was more than killing innocent Americans and destroying billions of dollars in property. Instead, it was an attack on the symbolic monuments of American culture: pride, security, stability, democracy and prosperity. When the terrorists struck on September 11, their goal was to change American society from one that prides itself on its ongoing struggle for civil liberties to one in which the people are willing to sacrifice those very ideals and freedoms to create a weak veil of security and, in return, in this regard, the terrorists have been successful. The definition of "terrorism", according to Webster's dictionary, is "the systematic use of violence as a means of intimidating or coercing corporations or governments"[1]. The September 11 attacks met this definition of terrorism. The attacks were intended to fundamentally change Americans' view of security and, beyond that, Americans' sense of freedom. Subsequent evidence suggests that the attacks were successful in reaching the......middle of paper......fs reevaluated." Ariana Eunjung Cha and Jonathan Krim. Washington Post. September 13, 2001. http:/ / www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21207-2001Sep12.html[5] “Newsweek Poll: Bush Soars.” Newsweek Special on MSNBC.com September 15, 2001 http://www.msnbc.com/news/629455 .asp[6] “Living under an electronic eye.” Lisa Guernsey, New York Times, September 27, 2001.[7] “Americans Support Encryption Controls” by Wendy McAuliffe 18, 2001 http://www.msnbc. com/news/630646.asp[8] “Terrorist Threat Shifts Priorities in Online Rights Debate.” Stephanie Olsen and Evan Hansen News.com, September 17, 2001. http:// /0-1005-201-7149229-0.html[9] “Submit spectra online?” Katharine Mieszkowski Salon.com 14 September 2001. http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2001/09/14 /privacy/index.html