We should not sacrifice personal freedom in exchange for supposed national security, but we ought to trade our personal security for national security. That is, we should put ourselves at risk for our nations sake. I refer not only to service in the nation’s armed forces, a noble sacrifice of some for the good of many, but also other forms of national service that enhance the nation’s security. This was best demonstrated in World War II with national steel, brass, and copper drives in the United States, and many other acts of homeland service for the war effort. In Great Britain, volunteers watched the coastland for possible invasion. In the current war on terrorism, President Bush has called for U.S. citizens to be observant for individuals acting out of the ordinary. Further efforts to enhance the national defense against terrorism could include volunteers to watch our borders, to examine shipping containers entering by land, sea, and air, and to assist Federal security personnel at the airports. This is the correct approach to security—individual initiative and effort, rather than centrally planned and controlled restrictions on liberty.
Nature is not a basis for freedom, it is a basis for removing freedom.