War on Terror - What price for safety?

Question

Many things have changed in the U.S. since 9/11. One of the most significant is the Bush Admin.'s tactics in combatting potential terror attacks on Americans. Many of the ones that have come to light, like warrantless wiretaps and searches, secret accessing of financial and even library records, have caused concern to people worried about civil liberites. Others have countered that they're necessary to keep us safe and the concerns are overblown. 'Dead people have NO freedom' or similar arguments. My question is, what right/freedoms would you NOT be willing to surrender in order to be protected? Is there some line where the majority of people would say 'Stop! No further'. Where the fear of an emerging police state surpasses the fear of al Quaeda. What is your line?

Ok, 8 responses and only ONE person has actually answered the question. (Sabbath) Fr Chuck what a cheap cop-out that was. Many people have posed the question 'What freedoms have you lost?' I want to know what freedom would you -give up-. If you're not willing to answer that question what a coward you are...

Answer 1

Any nation that sacrifices liberty for security deserves neither - Benjamin Franklin - American Statesman

Answer 2

Joe, get a grip. The wiretaps were ONLY on international phone calls and only when the phones were suspected of being a terrorist link. What searches? Accessing financial records? The only thing they were interested in is the money that was flowing across international borders to known or suspected terrorist links. Library records? They're probably bored to tears with the examination of library records and looking only for records wherein the books being checked out were about bombs, chemical weapons or other activity that could be tied to possible terror organizations or their sympathizers.

You have no idea of what the phrase "police state" means. You want to know about police states? Read about the KGB, Hitler's SS or the government of any of a half dozen countries in South America.

Where are you willing to draw the line at self-protection against an enemy that is determined, using any means available, to kill you, your friends and/or your family. Where are you willing to draw the line to protect yourself from an enemy that will behead you simply because you do not embrace a certain religion?

Answer 3

First of course these are not new changes since 9/11. Many of these things, the wire taps the searches and the financial records and the such have been done for years.

And I wonder if people would desire more if and when it is a monthly situation for a school to be bombed, a mall to be bombed and several car bombs in down town areas.

What rights would you give up when that starts happening.
Would you want the ACLU to get suspects off because they have not done the crime yet ?

Answer 4

As it happens, I ran across a terrific article today on this very subject. It was written by Matthew Woessner, an assistant professor of public policy at Penn State Harrisburg.

"I Was Wrong About 9/11" - http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06253/720033-109.stm

Edit: I include this link because the author offers some historical perspective: We ALWAYS give up some freedoms in time of war. Once the threat is eliminated and the war is over, our freedoms return to pre-war levels. This is FACT. This is HISTORY. You can speculate until the end of time, but if you begin with the wrong premise, you will never arrive at the correct answer.

I would gladly give up some of my freedoms for the duration of the conflict. Study the history of WW II and the restrictions imposed by FDR. Stop speaking from a position of ignorance.

Answer 5

There was a very famous statesman who once said that if you are willing to sacrifice your rights and freedom to be safe, then you deserve neither. I believe that to be true. With all of the money poured into the government coffers, you would think that they could come up with something better in order to secure safety than to negate our rights. I firmly believe that we have more to lose by allowing a police state to emerge and exist than we do from our worst enemy. We are our most dangerous enemy, or rather, our government is. Ask Bobby Kennedy about that when the CIA had him assissinated because he was the atty general and was in the process of disbanding the CIA.

Answer 6

What is an American life worth to you ? It's worth nothing to the terrorists, except as propaganda, when they drag it through the streets, after they have defiled it. Is sacrificing a little privacy too much for your security ? Then leave !! I know that as long as our constitution stands, and the GUNS that back it up, government will always be within our control

Answer 7

The price for safety is to stop believing your own government’s lies. To do that you need to switch off your TV and stop believing everything you read in the mainstream newspapers. The fact is that there is a massive Government propaganda campaign underway funded with billions of USD to ensure that you believe what you are told to believe. Essentially the government attempts to keep the unpalatable truth hidden and manufacture your consent by bullshitting you every possible way it can.

Learn about PNAC, read scholarsfor911truth.org, demand your rights under the constitution (before the criminals in our government amended it so that they can arrest and torture you for any reason they want anytime they want!) and try and switch to books and alternative media sources for your news. If you start to understand the truth of what is going on and the crimes that are being committed in your name unbeknown to you then we can start moving towards peace and safety -All we need is a just international law for all people.

Right now justice the American way is murder, theft, and crime justified by lies. Might can calls the shots but it is not always right. The people who are victims to current American foreign policy will defend themselves if they can. So, while the US, British and Israeli governments continue to pursue their policy of lies, illegal wars and oppression we will remain unsafe.

Answer 8

Tough question..
I can't give a really accurate answer..
It certainly depends on the legitimacy & imminance of the threat however we are seldom aware of these issues..
Look at the situation in the USA during WW2..
Certainly more strict that is currently upsetting the liberal dems in the USA....And indeed, it was the Dems in charge during WW2

Answer 9

There is no line. We can not sacrifice our civil liberties, if we do, the terrorists win. Here's the best way to test the latest administration's thoroughness, have they found Osama? If the answer is still no, then why do they care what books I/you checked out of the library?

Answer 10

They should've set up protection for our country before making the decision to attack a foreign county, regardless of their resources or unlikeliness to retaliate.