Two Significant Threats

Threats are only threats because we made it that way -- we are only human.

Although the United States is basically invincible through blatant foreign attacks, there are still many different threats to the American way of life. Depending on whom one asks, one may get many different answers on who or what is the most dangerous threat to America. Bush and his administration say that terrorism is one. Some people may say that shortsightedness is another. Other times, some believe that technology and our dependency upon it may be the most important of all.

Internet

The internet is a modern technology that has become both a dependency and a threat to America, especially children and the younger generation. When one asked IMSA students, alone, about how many hours most spend on the internet per day, the answer is usually a number between 6 and 10. At least one fourth of day was spent on the internet, surfing, chatting, messaging, and researching for the various papers (MSI survey). For regular high schools, this number is no different.

The internet is full of dangers. Though it was initially set up as a communications device during the Cold War (Bellis, 2007), it has become a mixture of traps, lies, and addiction. Although the internet is full of different wonders to explore as well as a bumper crop of knowledge to share, it has shown that the internet is also full of people wanting to take advantage of others (Izenberg, 2006). In addition, though most teenagers could care less about certain content that the internet has, certain material displayed upon the internet will take away the innocence of the younger generation (Hughes, 2001).

One example of this is pornography. Statistics show that about 37.2% of the Internet audience had viewed adult-content websites in December 2005 alone, and that the largest group of Internet porn viewers is teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 (Enough is enough, 2006). The entire behavior and attitude of the next generation is based upon their experiences - what they see and hear, and certain content on the internet, such as pornography, is presenting strong negative influences (Watson, Welch, 2000).

Another example of Internet threat is bullying. Most people have heard of the phrase "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names and words will hurt me more" or some sort of variation. The in the real world, bullies and bullying can usually be traced to a single person, but in the virtual world, it is not as easy. Bullies can be ignored, but just like the real world, there are some people who believe what the bullies say and go into clinical depressions (Izenberg, 2006). Certain computer-literate people can hide their trails very well, and it takes much effort to pick them out in an extensive chain that spreads world-wide.

Internet - it is a virtual network that connects the world. Its content both helps people as well as harms people. Hackers and 'stalkers' are mingled among the less computer-literate, providing a threat to their identity and personal information by the wrong click of a button. Viruses and Trojan horses hide among the massive information available, and it is hard to know who to trust and who to not. Government information can be 'accidentally' retrieved by keyloggers and other viruses. There are always loopholes, and technology is also always advancing. There may come a time when just a simple jump drive can bring an internet virus to another computer. It is easy to become someone else you are not on the Internet (Spenceley, 2006). Why, half the time, you don't even know who you are talking to (Spenceley, 2006). All of this proves that President Lincoln is right. Most of the technology hackers and thieves are hosting sites within the United States. This is a threat that we face because of our mistakes.

For these reasons, the Internet is a true threat to the future of the 21st century. Yes, it is an indispensable resource, but it is still a threat nonetheless. From hackers to viruses, from hidden rapists to tricky adult content, Americans and the next generation all over the world are being exposed to a virtual threat that is hard to treat. There will always be such people with sick minds that are there to add bad content on the website, and they may be half way around the world for all we know. What we do know is that there is a threat, and the young people must be taught how to protect themselves from all the 'online terrorists' of the Internet. After all, they are our future, and we hand off our control of the politics to them, who knows what will happen? "You can be anybody you want to be behind that computer," FBI agent Sue Bucenell said. "And so can they" (Spenceley, 2006).

Dependence on Resources

America is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, but it also requires the most energy resources in the world. Any break in the supply line of oil, coal, and other such energy sources will severely cripple the entire economy of the United States, and with it, our cherished political institutions.

Oil is one of the main sources of energy that America uses today. There used to be enough oil produced within the United States to satisfy its needs as well as left-over's to export. Yet, present day, oil production within the country is decreasing, and had been decreasing ever since the late 80's (William, Alhajji, 2003). In addition to this, most of the oil available on the planet has been draining. Discoveries of new oil sources had become rare even as more and more countries became importers of oil (Heinburg, 2004).

Petroleum and natural gas are the main supports for the growing transportation system, heating, lighting, and power for the numerous technologies that even government officials and the poorest of people often depend upon (Heinburg, 2004). Even today, most of us see a booming price of the oil and gas to pay for our cars. Yet, it will continue to grow as oil resources are reaching their limits.

This issue presents a dire threat to the United States, as well as developing countries around the world. The price per barrel of oil itself costs the world an arm and a leg. However, if the exporting countries somehow stopped their exports, the United States could only last a while before its economy collapses. With it, its political system and everything else. Everyone would be affected, and the world as we know it shall gradually disappear.

Expectation 3

It is fair to say that this is brought upon the world by ourselves, thereby proving further that Lincoln is right. Laziness breeds invention, and most inventions are to promote more laziness. Our dependence on oil and other resources is also partly caused by our unwillingness to change. In 2003, the cost of a barrel of oil reached over $30, which was a high price (William, Alhajji, 2003). Now, just four years later, the price jumped to over $60 per barrel (William, 2006). In just a span of four years, the price had more than doubled. The price would continue to increase as the ever-growing human population continues to demand energy.

Role of Technology

Technology plays an important role in the execution, creation, and prevention of most, if not all, of the threats that America faces today. One example of this is the threat of the internet and all that it embodies.

The internet was an invention first introduced during the Cold War era, and it is considered one of the most successful technologies of the time (Leiner, et. al, 2003). Although the internet had grown, and with it, its capabilities and availability to the rest of the public, there is also a growth in the number of ways to abuse it. With the number of abuses and ways to trick the system, better security had risen. Yet, there are always ways to side-step the security (Leiner, et. al, 2003).

Phishing is an important threat to our welfare and identity. On the internet, phishers are tech-pros that make fake websites or spam mails that ask for all sort of personal information. They fool innocent people into leaking out their personal information to steal their identities in order to make money or do more fraud (Phishing, 2007). In this example, it showed that not only is the internet a dangerous place, but also technology is an important cause of this way of identity-thieving. However, as technology advanced, there are less old loop-holes for the phishers to go through. The new internet explorer 7 offers a phishing filter that supposedly was able to help decrease the rate of phishing (Phishing filter, 2007), yet, there will still be more phishers that could find loop-holes in everything. Technology is a danger, but it is also a life-saver.

The other threat - America's dependence on oil - is also partly caused by the increase of technology. It is fair to say that the new machines and other technology all require the use of oil in some way or another. For an hypothetical example, take a computer. The making of it required energy from electrical plants, which are partly run from coal and oil. The transport of the new computers from factory to store required oil to power the trains and/or cars. The power supply in the store is from more coal and oil; and the power to run the computer itself also requires even more power. All these energy sources are running out as well as causing bodily harm to different places in the world. More technology, such as the new hydrogen-cell, may be able to save the day, but who knows when this source of power becomes unusable because of different reasons as well (Mondello, 2002)?

As the previous examples showed, the role of technology is an important part of the threats we experience in the modern-day world. Evil people are out there to take advantage of any loopholes in the internet security systems, and the natural resources we need to power our economy and our daily lives are slowly dwindling in amount. With further technology, many of these problems are solved, but there will always come a time when the current level would not work any more. The world is full of balances; and it is important that humans find theirs before it is too late.