Comment Re:just some balance here (Score 2, Interesting) 971
(I was going to ask how this comment is insightful, or for that matter, balanced? Well-written, sure. Evidence of an educated mind? Certainly. Thankfully, it has plummeted from +5 to a reasonable +1.)
The reason "some of us think it is more important to question the motivations of western authorities" is this: western authorities are large and in charge, and groups such as Al Quaeda are pathetic by comparison. The threat of police state terrorism looms larger--and more plausibly--than any loose affiliation of Muslim extremists. If you don't see this, you have not been paying attention, to current events or to history.
Are we to change our way of life because of a single fat lip? For all the horror of 9/11, there hasn't been an attack on American soil since. And that's not because of a competent administration or the Patriot Act's draconian measures. It is because there are so few competent terrorists. It would be a gross overstatement to label the threat A PHANTOM MENACE, but I don't hear the media bleeting for a police crackdown on fast drivers, even though such drivers kill more Americans every year than terrorists ever have.
Your argument shows contempt for the words of America's founding fathers. You're going to have to flippantly dismiss Mr. Franklin one more time: Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety
The reason "some of us think it is more important to question the motivations of western authorities" is this: western authorities are large and in charge, and groups such as Al Quaeda are pathetic by comparison. The threat of police state terrorism looms larger--and more plausibly--than any loose affiliation of Muslim extremists. If you don't see this, you have not been paying attention, to current events or to history.
Are we to change our way of life because of a single fat lip? For all the horror of 9/11, there hasn't been an attack on American soil since. And that's not because of a competent administration or the Patriot Act's draconian measures. It is because there are so few competent terrorists. It would be a gross overstatement to label the threat A PHANTOM MENACE, but I don't hear the media bleeting for a police crackdown on fast drivers, even though such drivers kill more Americans every year than terrorists ever have.
Your argument shows contempt for the words of America's founding fathers. You're going to have to flippantly dismiss Mr. Franklin one more time: Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety
