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We should be more like the Germans when it comes to balancing security vs. liberty.
"In Germany, whenever the government begins to infringe on individual freedom, society stands up. Given our history, we Germans are not willing to trade in our liberty for potentially better security. Germans have experienced firsthand what happens when the government knows too much about someone. In the past 80 years, Germans have felt the betrayal of neighbors who informed for the Gestapo and the fear that best friends might be potential informants for the Stasi. Homes were tapped. Millions were monitored."
As far as the people that own our govenment are concerned what worked for the Nazis and the Stasi should work for them. The only freedom these people are concerned about is their freedom to loot without any constraint.
This is an area that those on the left and right should agree.
“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” --Benjamin Franklin
“It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once. “--David Hume (1711 - 1776)
“Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficial. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding”. --Louis D. Brandeis
“It would indeed be ironic if, in the name of national defense, we would sanction the subversion of one of those liberties…which makes the defense of the nation worthwhile.”-- Chief Justice Earl Warren
Germany does virtually nothing to provide for its defense and nothing to ensure security around the globe. They let the US deal with that and our exposure and obligations are far more reaching. We have an intelligence gathering capability to match our commitments. We have every right to spy on suspects in Germany. Have we forgotten that the 9/11 terrorists lived and were plotting in Germany?
This is an area that those on the left and right should agree.
“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.†--Benjamin Franklin
“It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once. “--David Hume (1711 - 1776)
“Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficial. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understandingâ€. --Louis D. Brandeis
“It would indeed be ironic if, in the name of national defense, we would sanction the subversion of one of those liberties…which makes the defense of the nation worthwhile.â€-- Chief Justice Earl Warren
Germany does virtually nothing to provide for its defense and nothing to ensure security around the globe. They let the US deal with that and our exposure and obligations are far more reaching. We have an intelligence gathering capability to match our commitments. We have every right to spy on suspects in Germany. Have we forgotten that the 9/11 terrorists lived and were plotting in Germany?
This is an area that those on the left and right should agree.
“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” --Benjamin Franklin
“It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once. “--David Hume (1711 - 1776)
“Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficial. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding”. --Louis D. Brandeis
“It would indeed be ironic if, in the name of national defense, we would sanction the subversion of one of those liberties…which makes the defense of the nation worthwhile.”-- Chief Justice Earl Warren
This quoting of dead presidents and political philosophers of long gone centuries is reminiscent of the bible thumpers pointing to a passage of the Old Testament. It saves one from having to form a cogent argument for their case. And to the idiotic, nothing more needs to be said.
This quoting of dead presidents and political philosophers of long gone centuries is reminiscent of the bible thumpers pointing to a passage of the Old Testament. It saves one from having to form a cogent argument for their case. And to the idiotic, nothing more needs to be said.
Those words stand true today. Some are from Supreme Court cases that ruled on balancing security and liberty. Ben Franklin's quote is to show this is not a new issue -- an issue that the Founders debate at length.
There is no 'right' answer. Each person draws the line between acceptable limits of privacy and necessary liberty in a different place.
Here is another that is meant to defend those that stand up to encroachment of liberty.
“The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naive and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair.” -- H.L. Mencken
Location: In a Galaxy far, far away called Germany
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Germany DOES get it. We use to get it as well, but we have become the same paranoid state that our old adversaries were (of the Cold War). We have truly lost our way. We no longer can make snarky remarks about how Europeans are so subservient to their governments and don't know the first thing of liberty. Obviously, they know better than we do nowadays.
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