The attacks that happened on September 11, 2001 were one of the most shocking events to occur in America, it was the first attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor. Nobody ever expected the attack, it was completely out of the blue. This fueled the emotion and shock America as a country experienced. Everyone was impacted by this event in some way whether it was losing loved ones, worrying about friends and family or loss of piece of mind. George W. Bush was the President of the United States at the time and he addressed the country after the attack to try to comfort and console the public. In his address he said that America was dealt a serious blow, but that America is one of the strongest nations in the world and that the U.S would be fine and would launch a hunt for all of those responsible. Many people liked what Bush said, but others like John Edgar Wideman did not. He and many other people believed that the launched offensive on terror  and the propaganda put out by the government were used for ulterior motives. By comparing and contrasting George W. Bush's "Address to the Nation on Terrorist Attacks" and Wideman's "Whose War: The Color of Terror", a better understanding of how America as a whole felt about the attacks and terror in general is gained and this is seen through the arguments, word choice and central ideas of Bush and Wideman's writings. 

From these writings the reader can see that there are two very different viewpoints on how people felt about the America's response to the attack. George W Bush thought an offensive needed to be launched against the terrorist and he said, " The search is underway for those who are behind these evil acts. I've directed the full resources for our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and bring them to justice."( Bush 468). This was opinion that was shared by many in the U.S, Bush used good rhetoric in his speech and it was very convincing to many Americans. This was not the viewpoint that everyone saw, and in fact many people were very unconvinced by Bush. Wideman calls the war a charade and says, " a phony war that the press, in shameless collusion with the military, exploits daily as as newsy entertainment, a self promoting concoction of fiction, fact, propaganda and melodrama designed to keep the public tuned in, uninformed, distracted, convinced a real war is taking place. (Wideman 473)". In  this quote he is saying that the U.S is using this war for ulterior motives, he is saying that the goal of the war is not to defeat terrorism but it is mostly for economic gain. The military is making money off the war, the press is making money off of covering the war and the U.S is trying to capture the valuable oil that is in the middle east. Wars usually generate lots of money and Wideman presents a logical argument to the U.S's purpose in the war on terror. After all of these coincidences are pointed out it is hard to ignore them and a lot of Americans did not ignore them.  Some people even came up with conspiracy theories involving the government planning 9/11, however this is a bit on the extreme side. Both Bush and Wideman used their writings to try to appeal to the public.

Another thing that is expressed in these writings is what people thought the main issue in America was. George W. Bush states that terrorism is the biggest threat to America and that is what America's attention and effort must be focused on. However, Wideman wholeheartedly disagrees with that idea. He says, "I'm sorry. I'm an American of African descent, and I can't applaud my president for doing unto foreign others what he's inflicted on me and mine" (471). Some people saw racism as America's biggest problem and others saw the uncertainty of the safety of our nation from terrorist attacks. Wideman goes as far as to say that the war is a cover up for other issues at home and says, " To upstage and camouflage a real war at home the threat of terror is being employed to justify a phony war in Afghanistan" ( Wideman 472). Wideman and other Americans believed that racism is the main threat to America and the terrorist activity is covering that up. The physical threat of a terrorist attack clouded many people's judgements and thoughts on what the priorities in America are. This was amplified by Bush's speeches according to Wideman . In Bush's address he clearly states what he thinks is the main problem, he said, " Our first priority is to get help to those who have been injured and to take every precaution to protect our citizens at home and around the world from further attacks. From looking at these writings it is easy to see some of the relevent ideas and reactions going on at the time of those horrible attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.  

It is interesting to note some of the themes from the writings, George W. Bush used more collective nouns to try to gain the support of the nation, while Wideman does not. Bush tries to make the U.S seem very unified and talks about how great America is and how Americans can do anything, which is much different than Wideman's approach. Wideman focuses on himself and talks in the first person for most of the writing which makes his opinion seem more personal and centered on himself and his ideas. An example from Bush would be, " America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining" ( Bush 468). The effect from writing like this is that everyone feels included under this and feels good about America as a whole. Bush's speech has a unifying effect, which is fully intended. Wideman says things like, " I'm sorry. It's too late. I can't be as good of an American as he's [Bush] telling me to be. You know what I'm saying." (Wideman 472). This feels less collective and does not deliver the same effect as Bush's speech did. Another theme t is religion, Bush references christianity and talks about praying, references a pray verse and asks for God's blessing. This is also done intentionally, the majority of Americans are christian so Bush uses this to connect with them.   

From observing both of these works, one can gain a better perspective on the mindset of Americans during that trying time. Some of the most relevant opinions are shown. Both agree on one thing, and that is one thing that all Americans agreed on and that is that the attacks that occurred were heinous acts. Bush says, " Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature.."( Bush 468) while Wideman says, " We've had the good luck to survive something so awful.." ( Wideman 470). Other than that basic idea their opinions are all over the place and mostly disagree, and to an extent that represents the nation. Many people agreed and supported Bush while many did not and shared similar opinions to Wideman. Both of the opinions from the writings are on opposite sides of the spectrum, but after hearing arguments from both sides of the spectrum a better understanding and middle ground can be found. Points from both arguments are very valid, such as Bush's main point that America was attacked and for our nation's safety some action needs to be taken but Wideman's point that the war was used to cover up other issues and that economical gains were being made is hard to ignore as well.. By reading both writings, the reader can further develop views on the government and terrorism. Wideman presents the argument that the war was used as a  cover up for other issues and that the war is used to gain money through various products from being at war. Bush defends the idea that America is under attack and the terrorists threatening the country need to be hunted and dealt with which justifies the war. A lot of people agreed with both statements, so from analyzing these works a better understanding of what the public was thinking during this time can be found

