Posted on 06/23/2002 9:51:20 AM PDT by Stand Watch Listen
http://www.activedayton.com/auto_docs/epaper/editions/today/opinion_3.html We Can’t Escape World’s Dangers --Trading Liberties in Hopes of Finding security would Backfire on us.
The headline at the top of the front page was ominous. "Poll: Most Americans would give up freedoms," it said.
The accompanying article by the Associated Press cited a Gallup Poll that found that four of five Americans "would give up some freedoms to gain security" and that 40 percent of us worry that we or our families will fall victim to terrorism. Such is the state of anxiety in the wake of Sept. 11.
What freedoms, exactly, would people willingly give up?
According to the survey, about a third of Americans would allow the government greater leeway to eavesdrop on e-mail and telephone conversations; more than two-thirds approve of requiring some sort of national identification card; and nearly eight in 10 think American citizens should have smallpox vaccinations.
By my reckoning, only one of those three items genuinely qualifies as sacrificing any sort of civil liberty. Believing in inoculations against disease hardly qualifies, and it's a stretch to argue that carrying an ID card in some way infringes on any freedoms. Virtually all adults have Social Security cards and driver's licenses. What's the big deal?
Giving government additional authority to snoop on us, though, should give us pause. It's understandable that law-enforcement agencies chafe at the red tape they must wade through in order to get court-ordered wiretaps. But that red tape is there to ensure that Big Brother doesn't abuse the privilege.
The devil, as always, is in the details, but the danger of opening a Pandora's box such as this needs to be recognized. It is the nature of government to seek more and more power.
Our country was founded on the notion of limiting the authority government has in our lives. We should exercise great care in abdicating the very liberties that make America the great nation it is.
Dick Martin of Fairborn summed up another concern in a letter to the editor: "If the actions of terrorists induce us to give up any of our hard-won freedoms, the terrorists are winning."
He went on to cite a famous quote from Benjamin Franklin: "They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty or safety."
One of the instant clichs following the terror attacks of Sept. 11 was that the events "have changed everything." We should resist that.
Yes, we are at war. It's an untraditional conflict, but a war nonetheless. Wartime requires sacrifices, and those sacrifices sometimes include temporary curtailments of normal living. The key word is temporary.
Thomas Jefferson has been famously quoted as saying: "Were it left for me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter."
Jefferson had no great love for the press of his day. His point was that civil liberties, such as freedom of speech, should trump our desire for orderliness and safety.
Democratic, open societies by definition forsake an element of safety in favor of freedom. We mustn't fritter away that which makes us special simply because we're jittery, just because the world is a dangerous place.
It always has been. It always will be.
Jeff Bruce is editor of the Dayton Daily News. His Internet address is jeff_bruce@coxohio.com
The Truth shall set you Free.
Oh sorry, I forgot the government controls our education.
So I should say with government education, world dangers will continue to exist.
At least as long as the sheep are willing to follow the wrong shepard...............
The planes were their best shot, and their capabilities do not warrant the selfdestruction of freedoms of Americans. If we keep it up, it will be as if they are winning ground at our own hands.
If Bush really believed they might smuggle a nuke in here, then he wouldn't hesitate in putting troops on all borders. Our own politicians are shamming us to pass crap that we wouldn't allow under an Al Gore without strong opposition.
If a nuke is to be smuggled, it will be in Israel. When you see that, then maybe you'd see Bush seal the borders without us even emailing the request.
But alas, we see and hear about threats of a varying nature every day now, so WE need more government power?; Mexican invasion - - Naw...we just need to give up more rights and all is well.
I dont buy it, but as with all who may agree, we can do nothing about it , at least now. My family is very large and in many states and we all voted for Bush. After talking to most of them , we are at a toss-up between 2 third parties. I personaly don't care about the old addage ," throwing away my vote ", nor, "it equals a vote for the other guy." From now on, I and my family will vote our conscience, done with the power elite.
That said, I am glad we have Bush instead of Gore to execute our military actions.
From now on, I and my family will vote our conscience, done with the power elite.Seems many are pondering that same concept. I know President Bush just squeaked by in the 2000 elections, that his slim House majority and obstructionist Senate are of no support for his administration.
President Bush has pleasantly surprised many of us with his State-Of-The-Union addresses, his post Sept 11 speeches. Yet he has not utilized any veto on any of the government largess bills, he has not utilized his enormous approval ratings. Time for the 'bully pulpit'.
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