NationStates Jolt Archive

Liberty or security or it depends

Ben Franklin said it best.

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

I was going for the Franklin quote but Unfree beat me to it.

I was going for the Franklin quote but Unfree beat me to it.
My profile has that quote in it

Yes, I made one of the votes for "it depends," because I think it does.

For most of us, at least in the United States and most of the West, liberty is more important, virtually all the time.

However, basic security is the basis for all liberty. No one is free when life is entirely unstable and threatening. So, I am willing to give up liberty in the name of security, but only under the most extreme situations imaginable. For the record, I do not think the United States has seen such circumstances in its entire history.

And please, people, remember that liberty can be a dangerous thing. You do not have to be a fascist to think so! Tocqueville had us Americans pretty well pegged, and he knew it could get us into trouble.

Ben Franklin said it best.

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

Franklin hid out in France during the Revolution, relaxing with friends while his countrymen fought for freedom, so much more did he value his safety. In fact, he had a tendency to pretty much look out for Number One... and then miraculously come out smelling like a rose. (In this case, because he is credited with stabilizing the alliance with France that would ultimately prove instrumental to victory in the war... but do not be fooled into thinking that he was working hard, or at all disappointed that he would be safe, one way or another. Certainly no Patrick Henry.)