War on terror vs. civil liberties

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By Gregorious

Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.

-Benjamin Franklin

Civil liberties set limits for government so that it can not abuse its power and interfere with the lives of its citizens. Common civil liberties include freedom of association, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, and freedom of speech, and additionally, to due process, to a fair trial, to bear arms, and to privacy.

Broken Liberty
Broken Liberty

How do we find balance between liberty and security in today's world? Since September 11, the government adopted some controversial new tactics intended to improve the security, including warrantless eavesdropping on phone calls, secret demands for records under the Patriot Act, FBI sting operations against people thought to be potential terrorists, etc. But just how far should the government go in protecting us?

The Bush Administration contends these tactics have helped to save American lives, but many critics say they have severely damaged our individual liberties.

Bill of Rights and Habeas Corpus R.I.P.

Comments

ralwus 2 years ago

Yes, our civil liberties are slowly eroding away and it is fearful to realize that.

shazz01109 profile image

shazz01109 2 years ago

And Obama seems to be continuing many of Bush era tactics. I strongly believe that the bigger that government is, and is not held to account, the more power that they have. Addressing civil liberties must always be done.

Charles Hilton profile image

Charles Hilton Level 5 Commenter 10 months ago

Governments have always used fear as a means of curtailing liberties and justifying endless war. ALL of America's wars have been about money, and today's alleged "War on Terror" is no different; just follow the money trail from Haliburton to Dick Cheney to the Pentagon and the White House.

President Eisenhower warned us about the Military Industrial Complex in his farewell address, but, unfortunately, it hasn't helped. The situation has only gotten worse and is now beyond remedy. Fifty-eight cents of every discretionary dollar goes to the Pentagon. America spends more on its military than the top fifteen military budgets in the world, and nearly as much as the rest of the world combined.

The Soviet Union went bankrupt wasting its budget on the military, trying to keep-up with the U.S.. Afghanistan was the tipping-point for them, as it promises to be for us if we don't learn from history.

The U.S. is now run by a Shadow Elite of business, financial and government leaders who weave in-and-out of executive boardrooms and government cabinet positions in the biggest conflict of interest our nation has ever seen, so that we are now a plutocracy.

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