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.
Again, Jefferson wrote about "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" in the conjunctive--not the disjunctive. Unless life is preserved first and foremost, the other two have no meaning.
Right! I've got nothing to hide. Stop being so paranoid.
*Sigh* *Sigh* and *Sigh* again.
I, for one, will not live in fear and will go on with earning a living and paying my bills. I'd rather be free than "safe".
Flame away, good people.
Ah yes, more personal attacks.
Frankly, I think you're the goofy one. Btw, how's Minnie doing?
Since you like TJ so much you must love the fact that he also said revolution was neccisary every 20 years to protect the liberties of the people.
You seem to have missed the point entirely. The breakdown in your logic comes from the "If you aren't a terrorist". The problem is - who decides that? You? Your neighbor? The government? I'm secure in my belief that I'm not a terrorist, but that does not prevent our attorney general from deciding otherwise because he doesn't care for my political or religious views. One goal of the Constitution is to prevent this very thing from happening, but with every decree and law passed (particularly the USA Patriot Act, probably the most unconstitutional piece of legislation ever), our freedoms, liberties, and protections are eroded more and more. This is not libertarian nonsense, it is just pure common sense.
I take the following to heart, and perhaps you should too:
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~ Benjamin Franklin
This is a needlessly 'screamy' thread; the issues you raise are surely the crucial ones, and yet this is one post that sparked no replies, from either side of the ongoing debate.
Obviously, we can enjoy liberty AND security. The problem is, that outcome requires intelligent and measured policy from the government.
Some of us are more doubtful about that possibility than others. ;^)
it's really no problem for the Feds to search your house without a warrent?
I'm just curious here as to exactly where you stand...
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All on this thread! Anymore personal insults? If so, stuff it. - Reagan Man Enjoy the stuffing. - KirklandJunction [Y]ou have every right to be as arrogant and ignorant as you want. Makes no difference to me. I'm not the one pissed off at the world, you are. So enjoy stuffing that, bucko! - Reagan Man I just don't like stupidity and there seems to be an over abundance of it on this thread, by FReepers...Btw, whats your problem? - Reagan Man Now you call me arrogant, ignorant and pissed off. Your lack of civility is an insult to the fine man of your screen name. You should get along well with the infamous Kevin Curry, he's known internationally as one of the boors of Free Republic. - KirklandJunction You are a blind fool. - mconder What a dipwad. - Kevin Curry And you are an unthinking anarchist, a libertarian loon. - Kevin Curry I have no intent to challenge God and His principles of liberty. Obviously, you think your wiser than this. - mconder Go about your life and stop being paranoid and scared of your own shadow. - Reagan Man I will not insult you, but will count you among the 80%. - HoustonCurmudgeon LOL Your credibility is lost...You expect to be taken seriously? Never! - Reagan Man What an insane comment. - homeschool mama You are so full of crap... - mconder I see you're still whining. If you're that unhappy here in the good old USA, I suggest you move, to a place more your liking. - Reagan Man I think you are the paranoid coward. - Stew Padasso It appears you never passed reading comprehension in grade school. - Reagan Man
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We are still operating under many of the emergency programs enacted by FDR in the 30s, such as the powers of the Secretery of Agriculture to buy tons of produce to manipulate the market. The the minimum wage was started as an emergency measure, also. Likewise the federal imcome tax was started as a war tax that never went away.
If federal law enforcement officers are given new powers to spy on us, what are the chances that those powers will be taken away once the war on the Base is over? I do not believe that any provisions of the Patriot Act will ever be repealed.
There 20,000+ gun laws on the books and they have'nt stopped one shooting.
There are laws against rape and that hasn't stopped one rape..
There are laws against murder and murders still happen
There are laws against burglary/theft and they still occur
There are laws against hijacking and that didn't stop the devils.
There are laws against hostage taken and they took hostages
There are laws against destruction of property and they destroyed buildings
They stole the planes so theft laws did not stop them
Since they crossed state lines they were under Federal law, someone please tell me why we needed new laws?
So, what good are all the laws if only the law abiding obey them?
Be careful in embracing new laws because every new law restricts another freedom.
I suppose it would be far to comic book to allow private citizens their right of defense with private arms in all places public, including aircraft.
Furthermore, it would a halariously comical approach to have closed borders and to view all border crossings as a foriegn invasion.
I suppose it would just make you double over laughing if we were to round up people who's visas have expired and send them back from whence they came.
If there was imminent threat of getting the chair for people like john walker and this latest traitor, I suspect you would have to do alot less pre-emptive spying on innocent people.
Lots of "make do" work and "expertise" of "policy makers" maintaining the cash flow Inside the Beltway.
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