No More September 10th America
In a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed by Debra Burlingame:
We now have the ability to put remote control cameras on the surface of Mars. Why should we allow enemies to annihilate us simply because we lack the clarity or resolve to strike a reasonable balance between a healthy skepticism of government power and the need to take proactive measures to protect ourselves from such threats? The mantra of civil-liberties hard-liners is to "question authority" -- even when it is coming to our rescue -- then blame that same authority when, hamstrung by civil liberties laws, it fails to save us. The old laws that would prevent FBI agents from stopping the next al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi were built on the bedrock of a 35-year history of dark, defeating mistrust. More Americans should not die because the peace-at-any-cost fringe and antigovernment paranoids still fighting the ghost of Nixon hate George Bush more than they fear al Qaeda. Ask the American people what they want. They will say that they want the commander in chief to use all reasonable means to catch the people who are trying to rain terror on our cities. Those who cite the soaring principle of individual liberty do not appear to appreciate that our enemies are not seeking to destroy individuals, but whole populations.
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3 comments:
Would you react differently to this post if you were a non-middle class, light-skinned person?
If the civil liberties of some are compromised more than others, and you are in the latter group, should you still care? Be careful what you wish for...
The issue isn't about compromised civil liberties, its about leveraging effective tools and defending our entire civilization. You can't miss the forest but for the trees. A catastrophic attack would strike a much more significant blow to each and every American's future liberty.
Power is often abused.
Perhaps if you were in a different category you might realize this.
Some people fear the "effective tools" more than terrorist attack.
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