Safety Should Never Be More Important Than Liberty

“Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserves neither liberty nor safety.” - Benjamin Franklin

I believe that in the United States, we have prioritized safety over everything, even our rights. In the modern world, especially post terrorism, liberty is often forgotten.

Example 1: TSA

You have a right (4th Amendment) to not be searched or have items seized by government authorities without reasonable or justified cause. The TSA, which was implemented post 9/11, clearly has authority beyond the 4th amendment. I recognize that the threat of terrorism exist. The horror of 9/11 was catastrophic. Yet, should ordinary citizens be subject to inspection and search simply because they choose to fly? Most citizens are not flying for nefarious reasons.

Also, there is no reason why ordinary citizens must pay consequences of their freedoms in the name of national security. There are other methods to prevent terrorism outside of unconstitutional screenings.

Example 2: The Patriot Act

This is another post 9/11 policy. Essentially, because of national security threats, the government can arbitrarily search anyone’s meta data without a warrant or consent from the individual being investigated. Snowden exposed that the NSA was even abusing this system by monitoring ordinary citizens that would not be considered a threat. Again, safety is being prioritized over privacy and your 4th amendment rights.

Conclusion:

The government has no right to infringe upon our rights in the name of national security. The founding fathers would take great issue with the state of the country’s liberties right now.