CNN poll finds 40% of the people would give up Civil Liberty to fight Terrorism

[Savannahmann]

First the link.

Then the blurb.

Although worries about terrorism have edged up following the Boston Marathon bombings, a new national poll indicates only four in ten Americans say they are willing to give up some civil liberties to fight terrorism.

Now the rant. ONLY four in ten Americans. ONLY? Are you joking? ONLY? The comment should be four in ten Americans think that a police state is preferable.

I'm dissapointed, astonished, and having trouble believing that. ONLY four in ten Americans would give up Civil Liberty to fight Terrorism. That is the headline, that is the story. That's the problem as all but shouted from the CNN political unit.

Another finding from the survey: Six in ten report that they are more worried about the government restricting civil liberties than they are that the government will fail to enact new anti-terrorist policies.

Normally I try and write thoughtful posts, where I express my opinion, and my thoughts, with analogy, with historical references, and with rationality. In this case, I am absent of any of those except shock. I can't believe that 40% of my fellow citizens are capable of even considering sacraficing Civil Liberties under the guise of fighting Terrorism.

[closeupready]

1. Civil rights are not subject to popular vote, so while interesting,

I'm not sure this is significant.

[MindPilot]

12. THAT apparently is the problem.

If our votes actually counted and there was a better choice than a Shit Sandwich or a Turd Taco, we might actually get some civil rights.

[Savannahmann]

14. They don't ask us to vote for or against anything.

They take the action, and then argue it before the court, that finds more exceptions to our rights. The Public Safety exception. If there is a vote, it's after the fact, to make it legal. Like the Illegal Wiretapping. Right now, they are considering a bill to make it illegal for sites that do any kind of messaging to be untappable. In other words, no encryption boys and girls, we want to be able to read all your notes.

We don't get a vote, that's the problem.

[Newest Reality]

2. Well, its like:

We have a varying degree of certainty that there are bogeymen in your closet and under your bed so we would like you to voluntarily step into this steel box of protection in order to keep you safe. You can leave anytime, with the appropriate authorization, and we have the key.

By the way, there is an initial fee for the box and a monthly surcharge which you will pay voluntarily in compliance with a mandatory requirement and into perpetuity.

Enjoy your Freedom Box.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

20. Perfect Post.

Explains it perfectly.

[Newest Reality]

21. Thanks!

I like to play with story and metaphor, so I appreciate comments on my humble offerings.

[arely staircase]

3. I find the 60 percent no vote surprisingly high and encouraging

I am guessing this is better than thee numbers have been since 9/11. That is just a guess.

[silverweb]

5. Exactly!

[Blue Owl]

4. Did CNN also mention that a person is 25x more likely to die from a lightning bolt?

I didn't think so.

[hobbit709]

6. I can think of several here who would be willing to give up "essential liberties"

[Savannahmann]

15. So can I.

I thought of making this a poll here, but then I decided I wouldn't be able to keep my dinner down it it came up similar to the CNN poll.

[indepat]

7. Or a gazillion times more likely to be gunned down by a reichous gun-toting

domestic extremist exercising his 2nd Amendment rights?

[LuckyLib]

8. They (we) have had no say in the matter. It's already happened.

[Bannakaffalatta]

9. to 100%, with very little opposition

[ileus]

10. what % are willing to give up their 2A rights?

[MindPilot]

11. The first time I had to go though a metal detector to get on an airliner, the terrorists had won.

That was sometime in the 70's I believe. One would think that with all the liberties we have sacrificed since then to keep bad shit from happening, an awful lot of bad shit still happens. It may be time to stop doing more of what doesn't work.

To those 40% who are willing to sacrifice even more liberty for even less safety, perhaps you should volutarily check yourself into one of the private prisions you are so fond of sending other people to. You'll be safe there, just ask for the "SHU".

But the overarching issue here is--as you point out--HOW this article is presented. Pure Propaganda.

And then there is this little tidbit I found interesting in the comments:

Krustydog

Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.

William Pitt

May 1, 2013 05:40 pm at 5:40 pm

I'm assuming that it is a quote and Krustydog is not William Pitt. But it certainly doesn't sound like the Will Pitt we have heard of late.

[hobbit709]

24. It was this William Pitt

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Pitt_the_Younger

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

13. I think it's because

that 40% thinks the mere giving up of the liberty would eliminate the terrorism. I don't think many Americans even give thought to the foreign policy (multi national business dealings) that is an incubator for terrrorism.
They can't associate one with the other. They believe the terrorism happens in a vacuum. Certainly we have isolated incidents of either martyr or mentally disturbed people acting on their own. But orchestrated acts of terrorism will never be defused through our giving up our rights.
However, lazy (or non-existent) journalism and the fact constant terror is useful to many individuals means we are in for a long, uncomfortable ride...............

[DCBob]

16. I suspect most of those responding dont even know what civil liberties are.

[n2doc]

17. Well, in 2004 more than that voted to do so

Many people have the attitude that "it would never happen to me, I'm sure it will only apply to those other people". Some even hope for that. Since so few travel, they have no idea what the loss of Civil Liberties really means.

[Savannahmann]

18. It still makes me sad.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

19. It's pretty distressing ...

... but I'm not shocked. We're a nation that constantly uses fear to implement policy.

[OmahaBlueDog]

22. Just to be clear.. they are not interested in giving up their own civil liberties

...they simply want to take away liberties from others.

First and foremost, they don't want religious liberty to apply to practitioners of Islam. Frankly, they don't want any non Judeo-Christian belief, but mostly Islam. They want the mosques closed. They want the practitioners exiled or imprisoned (mostly imprisoned).

Let's say you're 50. If you are not well read or well traveled, what you know about Islam has come to you through the MSM. It consists of:

PLO terrorism
Algerian hijackers
Iranian hostage takers
Hammas
Libyan terrorism
The Achilie Lauro seizure
Hostages in Beiruit
Iraq
Al Quaida
The USS Cole
The Bali disco bombings
The African embassy bombings
9-11
Iran goes nuclear
Boston

Never mind that we supported Muslim nations in the Balkans in the 90s, or that we sold weapons to Iran & Iraq, or that we defended Kuwait, or that we were once supporters of Osama Bin Laden, or that we supported Egyptian control of the Suez when France and England wanted it kept in European hands.

[Savannahmann]

23. But they were.

They were only too happy in Watertown to surrender their 4th Amendment rights. When we questioned the actions of the police, the people "closer" to the event said they had the only voices that mattered, because they were the ones there. So collectively, they surrendered their 4th Amendment rights, and it was their own.

These are the people who when they hear about illegal wiretaps, the first question they ask to those of us who object is what do you have to hide? When we object to stop and frisk, these are the people who ask what we have to hide. When we object to the totally nude scanners at the airports and some federal buildings, you know the question. They do get affected, and they're happy, because they think that by giving up those little things, after all they have nothing to hide, they'll be safe.

They do give up their own rights, and really resent the hell out of those of us who do object. After all, what do we have to hide?