Since the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon, United States foreign policy, its response to possible terrorism and the average American citizen’s response to terrorism has changed dramatically.

As with most major historical events, most Americans can remember exactly what they were doing when they found out that a plane had been flown into northern façade of One World Trade Center. One of our staff members remembers being on the bus to fifth grade and hearing what was going on in New York.

The act of terrorism is meant to do just that, terrorize, and since 9/11, it’s safe to say that most Americans live with the thought hanging at the back of their mind of where and when the next attack will happen.

Since 2001, the nation has been in a constant battle to find and eliminate terrorist cells and rogue states around the world that may pose a threat to Americans both domestically and abroad. President George W. Bush’s policy of preventative wars instead of preemptive wars is what led to the War in Iraq and what may lead to another large deployment of troops of the Middle East to fight the growing threat which Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) poses.

The biggest mistake that we as a country can make is to think that the War on Terror is over and that the death of Osama Bin Laden and the decentralization of Al-Qaeda was all that was needed to protect us from extremist groups. However, turning a blind eye to something going on thousands of miles away has come back to bite our nation in its ass more than once over its history.

The country needs to be proactive in tackling these threats. As a nation, we cannot expect our decision-makers to sit back and wait for the next 9/11 and seek to punish those responsible after the fact. Extremist groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS are not waiting around. Every terrorist leader brought to justice or killed is just one battle won in a larger war, and unfortunately, there is always another one waiting in the wings to replace them.

Being forced to live in fear of possible terrorist attacks is a victory for terrorists. The stringent regulations for airlines, while now necessary, have given rise to stereotyping and racial profiling that gives extremists ammunition to give to new recruits if they hadn’t already had a reason to hate the United States.

It is time that we begin taking back what was taken from us on that morning thirteen years ago. No one is saying that we shouldn’t still be cognizant of the threats to our national security, but it’s time that we stop living in fear and giving terrorists exactly what they want.

As President Franklin D. Roosevelt said in his inaugural address in 1933, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Without the specter of fear clouding our judgment when it comes to terrorism, our decision-makers can make sound decisions that are in the best interests of the safety of the nation. It’s on the citizens to get over that fear.