Are you willing to lose some freedoms, so you don't lose your head?

Question

Why does everyone complain about the Patriot act and other legislation that has not empeded their freedom? Would you rather have your head on a stick?

Answer 1

Bush has not taken away anyone's freedom except those head cutting bomb strapping scumbag terrorist's. I support him because I know his administration is working to protect America against terrorist

Answer 2

This country was founded on the basis of individual freedom. And the fact that the government should have only limited power. The Constitution limits the power of the government. The Bill of Rights are God-given rights of the people merely written down. They are a sign that the government cannot trespass on these freedoms. They protect the rights of the individual and the innocent. So the government can't go and lock up anyone it feels like, invade your privacy and take your things, deny you a trial and a lawyer . We fought long and hard to secure these liberties. If you look at the Patriot Act and some of the other legislation this Administration has been pushed through they violate these rights. No government should ever have that power. They are spying on Americans and when a government becomes big and powerful and starts taking away the freedoms we hold dear it just a short time away from becoming totalitarian. Read your American history. And do your research on what the founding fathers of this country believed and were willing to die for. In the words of Patrick Henry: GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH.

Answer 3

It's not a question or either/or (Patriot Act or head on a stick).
There's a LOT of stuff in between these two extremes. And, yes, the Patriot Act IS extreme, created out of fear by a few to control by fear, backed up by all sorts of (il)legal stuff, the masses.
If the government can tap your phone without going through a law court, then the whole idea of checks and balances has gone out the window. If you can be arrested and denied access to legal counsel, then something is truly and deeply wrong!
Innocent people have been sucked up in this abuse of human rights. The freedom of innocent people has not only been impeded but actively denied. This is so NOT what a democracy is supposed to be about!
Just because your individual freedom has not been impeded today is absolutely NO guarantee that it will not be impeded tomorrow or next week or.....(?)
Suppose your neighbor or someone at work, school, wherever had a grudge against you and called the local rep of Homeland Security?
It could be your worst nightmare!

Answer 4

There is a serious problem with your premise(s).

1. I am NOT willing to lose some freedoms. We have too few today as it is.

2. I am not going to lose my head. We had no patriot act for 42 years of my life, we were fine.

3. I'm sorry, you wiretap, hold, and torture innocent people without justification you ARE impeding my freedoms.

4. By the way you ask "are you willing to lose some freedoms" then say "the patriot act has not impeded freedom". Well, which is it?

5. It is NOT either/or. The patriot act is NOT needed to protect us. It is being used as a political tool to circumvent the constitution and OUR freedoms.

6. I know you don't believe me and I'm not holding my breath getting a thumbs up, let alone 10 points. But I speak the truth.

Answer 5

Than be beaten and down trodden by a system that used to demand your life for a certain amount of freedom but plans to stop offering that deal, yes. Our ancestors fought through history to give us a few cultures & counties with some freedom; just because the majority can't see that the plan is to take it away by appealing to the majorities cowardise doesn't make that the long-term easy way out. Can't you see our governments are acting just like the Mob now offering to protect us (by taking our freedom) from the problems that they are creating?

Answer 6

Ben Franklin said:
They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security
Another piece of food for thought.....
First they came… is a poem attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group. When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

If the Patriot Act is something that American people want to be continued to be used as that "slippery slope" to take away more and more of our freedoms we need to have changes to our constitutuion which changes all the beliefs of the people who founded this country. I am not saying increased security is a bad thing yet we need to come up with a reasonable balance between safety of citizens vs. not letting grandma fly with her Aqua Net!

Answer 7

Well, I think the airport security think is good, if not a bit silly when I get checked. If I was ever on a flight that was hijacked, I'd be breaking some al Qaeda necks on the way out...

Answer 8

Who is capable of putting 300 million US citizens' heads on a stick?

Thankfully only a small number of Americans are as scared as you.

Answer 9

Go take a trip to every airport in the country and you will come back with some better questions.

Answer 10

If we give up our freedoms, the terrorist have won. No I am not willing to give up my freedoms! Not one. I would rather die free than give in to the terrorists.