Even in the wake of the April 15 Boston Marathon bombing – in which a pair of Islamic radicals are accused of planting explosives that took the lives of 3 and wounded over 280 – the polls suggest Americans are hesitant to give up any further freedoms in exchange for increased “security.”
A Fox News survey [9] polling a random national sample of 619 registered voters the day after the bombing found despite the tragic event, those interviewed responded very differently than following 9/11.
For the first time since a similar question was asked in May 2001, more Americans answered “no” to the question, “Would you be willing to give up some of your personal freedom in order to reduce the threat of terrorism?”
Of those surveyed on April 16, 2013, 45 percent answered no to the question, compared to 43 percent answering yes.
In May 2001, before 9/11, the balance was similar, with 40 percent answering no to 33 percent answering yes.
But following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the numbers flipped dramatically, to 71 percent agreeing to sacrifice personal freedomto reduce the threat of terrorism.
Subsequent polls asking the same question in 2002, 2005 and 2006 found Americans consistently willing to give up freedom in exchange for security. Yet the numbers were declining from 71 percent following 9/11 to only 54 percent by May 2006.
Now, it would seem, the famous quote widely attributed to Benjamin Franklin – “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety” – is holding more sway with Americans than it has in over a dozen years.
A similar poll sampling 588 adults, conducted on April 17 and 18 for the Washington Post [10], also discovered the change in attitude.
“Which worries you more,” the Post asked, “that the government will not go far enough to investigate terrorism because of concerns about constitutional rights, or that it will go too far in compromising constitutional rights in order to investigate terrorism?”
The poll found 48 percent of respondents worry the government will go too far, compared to 41 percent who worry it won’t go far enough.
And similar to the Fox News poll, the Post found the worry to be a fresh development, as only 44 percent worried the government would go too far in January 2006 and only 27 percent worried the government would go too far in January 2010.
The Fox News poll found that a bare majority of Democrats (51%) would give up more personal freedom to reduce the threat of terror, while only 47% of Republicans – and a mere 29% of independents – would do so.
This is not entirely surprising.
Because the government has terrorist within it!!
ReplyDeleteIt starts at the top , meaning OBAMA!
Always remember what the Indians said, "Love your country, but don't trust the government" and look at how many times the US Government screwed, lied, cheated the poor Indians.......
ReplyDeleteYUP,Anon 3:17pm. The white man speaks with a forked tounge and steal everything. Most are DEMOCRATS.
ReplyDeleteAs long as the Indians don't associate what happened to their ancestors to modern day white people I agree.No one alive today ever did any of those things.
ReplyDeleteName ONE specific right that has been lost.
ReplyDelete4:03....you need to keep up. The Bureau of Indian Affairs "lost" BILLIONS of royalty payments to Indians tribes for mineral and oil rights. Thats right, the oil and mining companies made BILLIONS that belonged to the Indians and knowingly stole it WITHOUT FEAR OF PROSECUTION. Already went through the courts and has been proved, if I'm not mistaken. BILLIONS. Not ONE government official went to jail. All Indians aren't rich from casino's. Many still live in tarpaper shacks with no running water and the nearest hospital 50-100 miles away. Even today, the Indians, a supposedly "sovereign" nation within nation, get sent to prison for using peyote and mescaline in religious ceremonies (as they have been doing before the white man invented guns or came here to rape and pillage) by you know who --- the same white people who promised them "sovereignity". They have every right and reason to hate the white people. but take heart in the fact that the government equally screws all people that can't bribe them, uh, I mean, contribute to their campaigns. Democrat and Republican.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteName ONE specific right that has been lost.
April 29, 2013 at 4:54 PM
The right to travel freely without being molested.
The right to due process in some cases.
The right to be free from unwarranted searches and seizures.
The right to own firearms, WITHOUT BEING INFRINGED UPON.
The right to be secure in our persons.
The right to be represented according to our will.
The right to peacefully assemble.
The right to protect ourselves.
The right to have free speech.
Etc. ETc. ETC.
If you still need specific occurrences, you have not been paying attention the last several years.
12:22. SMACK that boy down. ONLY a cop would ask such an asinine question. And a really, really stupid cop at that. So, having said that, I think you might have went too fast for him. He only asked for ONE example and now his head is spinning with all this new information. GUARANTEED he STILL thinks you are wrong.
ReplyDelete