National Security vs. Civil Liberties Forum

usa patriot act -- pro civil liberties--Ben Franklin quote

usa patriot act -- pro civil liberties--Ben Franklin quote

by Joshua Green -
Number of replies: 5
How much is too much?  Do we have to wait until the government controls and monitors everything we do on the internet?  At what price do we sacrifice our liberty?  Ben Franklin once said: " Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
In reply to Joshua Green

Re: usa patriot act -- pro civil liberties--Ben Franklin quote

by Damien Sanchez -
As long as they remove the program when the war is over i have no problem with it. If they don't then we will have to elect you as president and get it removed.
In reply to Damien Sanchez

Re: usa patriot act -- pro civil liberties--Ben Franklin quote

by Jennifer Kuebler -

Just because the war would be over doesn't mean there wouldn't be other threats from different organizations. We have lots of enemies.

In reply to Joshua Green

Re: usa patriot act -- pro civil liberties--Ben Franklin quote

by Forrest Jayson -

If Ben Franklin had lived during our time, do you think he would have felt this way?

In reply to Joshua Green

Re: usa patriot act -- pro civil liberties--Ben Franklin quote

by Ashley Andrews -

Our internet usage already is monitired. As well as our phone usage. The government has "spiders" that alert them whenever certain words are used. Like "bomb" or "anthrax." Lol Sorry for bringing this forum to their attentino now, if it hasn't been already. :P

But in all seriousness, I'm not sure that they do look into every single thing. Because I know I have friends that'll throw those kinds of things into phone conversations or texts just to screw around. And it seems like that'd be too easy. None the less, it makes me sort of uncomfortable knowing they can do things like that, but at the same time, if followed through with efficiently, it would probably prevent a lot of crisis.

I guess everything comes with a price. Clearly Franklin believed the value of civil liberties and freedom outweighed protection. Personally, I'd rather willingly give up some of my rights for a little bit if it ensured that I could keep my life to practice them later.