Quote:
|
Originally Posted by RW13 and that's great gatornation, but the problem is that YOU'RE sure that people wouldn't mind giving up those freedoms, the problem is that this country is democracy, historical resonance or not, now if we are going to change our gov't structure, that's one thing, but it is still a democracy. And yes I'm aware that the patriot act was passed by elected representatives, but do you think the patriot would pass a nationwide referendum? No. Safety over freedom, I don't know, you're starting to sound like a woman voter and a Torie, I know you're better than that, shit, terrorists should be afraid of american the size of you, at some point, you got to draw a line in the sand and say no, the terrorists have not beaten and will not change my country to dictatorship like theirs, I mean that's essentially what they're doing, you're letting them turn America into an Iraq (ppl tortured by Sadaam were "enemies" of the gov't) or a Saudia Arabia little by putting a premium on security over freedom. You can be as smartass as you like about the forefathers but the fact remains we are a free country and we're supposed to remain one, how is taking away civil liberties not letting terrorists win? Tell me that... |
Well, you and Neo make some very good points. I guess I trust the government a bit too much.....i.e., they're not going to grab some random person off the street and keep him or her locked away for a few years; that is, they're probably going to have some reasonable level of suspicion with at least a shred of circumstantial evidence (e.g., email, phone tap, eye witness, etc.). But according to what you guys are saying, that doesn't seem to be the case.
I guess I'm more afraid of the streets and shops of America eventually resembling those of Israel and the Middle East.....a fear grounded in an assumption that the terrorists will succeed if we simply close our constitutional eyes in a fervent prayer that they will simply trip over themselves in the process of attacking our country. That's not being proactive, and that's exactly how 911 happened. We assumed x, y, and z, and a lot of people lost their lives because of assumptions (e.g., hijacked planes would be used for political or monetary gain, not massive, coordinated suicide missions, etc.).
I never want to worry that the restaurant in which I'm eating might explode. And if I have to join the Marines to prevent that from happening, so be it.
