Posted on 06/11/2002 6:39:05 AM PDT by Boonie Rat
Poll: Four in Five Americans Would Give Up Some Freedom for More Security
By Jennifer L. Brown Associated Press Writer
Published: Jun 11, 2002
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Four in five Americans would give up some freedoms to gain security and four in 10 worry terrorists will harm them or their family, a new Gallup poll shows.
About one-third of those polled favor making it easier for authorities to access private e-mail and telephone conversations. More than 70 percent are in favor of requiring U.S. citizens to carry identification cards with fingerprints, and 77 percent believe all Americans should have smallpox vaccinations.
"It was amazing the percentage of people who are willing to give up freedom to get back some sense of personal security," said Elaine Christiansen, senior research director for The Gallup Organization. "These aren't people who were necessarily near the twin towers, near the Pentagon, near the Murrah building. These are average people."
The telephone survey, conducted in March, included 934 people across the country. Researchers also polled about 500 people in each of three cities where terrorist attacks occurred - New York City, Washington, D.C., and Oklahoma City - to compare results with the general population survey.
The poll showed 8 percent of Americans are very worried and 31 percent are somewhat worried that they or someone in their family will become victims of a terrorist attack in the United States. In New York City, the level of worry is higher - 19 percent said they are very worried and 34 percent said they are somewhat worried.
Washington, D.C, and Oklahoma City reported levels of fear close to the national average.
Scientists involved in the poll said they were not surprised many Americans remain fearful after Sept. 11.
"The magnitude of the event was just so profound," said Carol North, a psychiatry professor at Washington University in St. Louis, who said talk of the war in Afghanistan, airline security and terrorist threats is propelling the fear.
The study was co-sponsored by The University of Oklahoma psychiatry department through a grant from the Oklahoma City National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism. The main survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points, while the margin of error for the survey in the three cities is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Meanwhile, a New York Times/CBS News poll found that 60 percent of New York City residents think the threat of a terrorist attack in their city is greater than it is in any other big city.
Barely 40 percent of respondents believe the city is safer than it had been four years ago, a decrease of 20 percent from those polled in August. Even so, nearly two-thirds of those surveyed said that given a choice, they would prefer to be living in the city four years from now than any other place.
The poll, conducted by telephone in English or Spanish June 4 through Sunday, surveyed 940 adults. It has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
I suppose we all are now.
Everyone is 'arrestable'; no one can be presumed innocent.
It's for the children.
Paranoid? Not me. Chck out your bathroom mirror if you want to see a paranoid freak and internet coward. You've got nothing relevent to say. Just more trashtalk.
Let me second that entire paragraph. There is a HUGE difference from when Ben Franklin wrote his words -- times have changed. However dangerous they thought the world was, it has gotten 1000 more times dangerous today if not more than that.
People need to remember that their freedom and their rights stops at the next person doorstep -- to call people Morons for wanting more security even if they sacrifice some of their Freedom is distasteful and not right or do they not have a right to their own opinions?.
What Freedoms are we talking about here -- I still have my freedom of speech, freedom of where I want to worship, freedom to drive my car, freedom to attend sporting events, movies, plays, freedom to go out to eat, freedom to own a gun and carry it concealed if I want to, freedom to do almost anything that is not against the law, so what freedom have I sacrificed for more Security? All I can see is that it may take more time to do certain things like check-in at an airport and I think that is great but it certainly has not taken away my Freedom to fly!
The sky is falling crowd seem out in force on this thread. What is the old saying -- Freedom isn't free! Well many people over the centuries have sacrificed their lives for our Freedom so it seems to be that we could all sacrifice something for the Security of this Nation they fought to preserve. If people are not criminals, I still don't see what Freedom has been lost unless they mean Freedom to do whatever they want, when they want and it doesn't matter that it just might infringe on the next person's freedom!
I don't have anything to hide and the government won't be coming after me. May be you've got something to hide. May be they'll be coming after you, or may be you're just paranoid.
You ain't kidding. Their coming outta the woodwork!
I think these people, that exhibit such an exaggerated fear of government, are extremely paranoid individuals. Also, they can't seem to talk about things rationally, so they revert to name calling and personal insults.
Thanks for your support PKM!
Maybe if the sky is falling crowd had lived through the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building and saw the aftermath even years later, they might understand Okies a lot better. Suggest that they take a tour through the Bombing Memorial and the Museum and then call Oklahomans a bunch of Morons for wanting more security!
Yeah, everything you say is "relevant" Maybe you should stop listening to the voices in your head?
Your remark about my belonging to the 80% crowd, refers to the article title and that title includes a so-called, "moron alert". See the connection now? Your insult was quite obvious. Now, if it was an oversight, on your part, okay. I'll accept an apology.
The rest of my remarks are crystal clear and that's why I suggested you re-read them, in context.
The often overlooked clause... Life, Liberty, and the pursuit a speedy curbside checkin.
FReegards,
David
Thank you kindly.
Not only are these chicken little freaks, paranoid, they're naive too.
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