[extropy-chat] Tyranny in place

[Lee Corbin]

Russell writes

> I think the threat of terrorism is greatly overstated, but I agree there is a threat and it has to be fought. It does not at all 
> follow that we in the West should tolerate erosion of our civil liberties by our own governments. It's not just that it's not 
> necessary - _it's also not helpful_. If you have a problem, and you try to solve it by surrendering your freedom, you now have two 
> problems.
<

That could be true, but I believe it depends on future events. Do you almost
daily think about what your reactions would be if a terrorist nuke was to go
off in a large American city?

Do you think that your feelings and intuitions would change at all?

The glorious thing about democracy is that it seems to periodically adjust itself
in terms of mood just the way that a person does.  Right after 9-11, "America"
as an entity behaved angrily, just as natural selection made people so act.
There is less cause for anger now.  There may be more cause later.

Whatever happens, the choices made will be strongly criticized---which, up to
a point, is exactly what should happen.

Lee

P.S.  My apologies if you aren't an American;  please pretend that you are for
the sake of the questions.