Liberty or Safety? Due on 2/23

Benjamin Franklin once said, " Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor  Safety".

We've just learned about the Alien and Sedition Acts and how Adams and his party felt it was worth it to take away some of America's freedoms in order to protect the government (at least this was their opinion). They had many critics. Kentucky and Virginia even decided that they could override these bad laws in their states (nullification).

We're living in a period of history in which our country is very concerned with safety. We worry about terrorism and keeping our citizens safe. Some people have criticized our president for taking away some of our freedoms in order to protect us.

What do you think? Is it worth it to you to give up some freedoms in order to be safe? How much would you be willing to give up? What dangers are there in taking away freedoms? You can use the chart we filled out in class on Monday.

Comments

[rickybobby4]

It depends what freedoms you have to give up. If it is a freedom like religous freedom I would not give it up because it is needed but if you had to give up the right to bear arms I would because I dont think we need guns. I would not give up that many freedoms though. Also if the government takes some freedoms away people may strike against it which would be dangerous.

[dpf20 1]

I think we not safe because everyone fight I do this or you do that.Thank you read this.

[ballamigit6]

I think it is worth to give up some freedoms to be safe. Now I don't think that giving up a lot of freedoms is ok, but some freedoms would be ok. The freedoms that wont really affect anybody. A freedom that nobody will get mad at if it is taken away. If we gave up a freedom that would affect us, then i would not like it.

[superdooper1]

I think that if there was a terrostist attack that some rights like speaking with other people from the attacking country should be taken. This would make people safer and alot more aware of the situation. I think that the government should do everything in their power to keep us safe for the time being. Even if that means taking away some rights. superdooper1

[PolarIce4]

We should never be expected or asked to give up our freedoms. They are our rights as Americans, and no one can ever take them away. Terrorists are a big threat to our safety, but we shouldn't fear them enough to give up our freedoms and lives. If we give in to them, they are getting what they want; we are allowing terrorism to succeed. And if the government takes away our freedoms, there could be struggles that over-throw the people in charge, so more courageous, liberty-driven leaders will take command.

[HEART05]

We, as United States citizens may be giving up our rights to be safe, but what about the people who came here to have those rights. When we check people that look, act, or are from a different place, we are taking away their rights and the dream that many people have when they are comming to this country from another country to escape something, such as the ruling of Castro or violence.

[FallOutGirl1]

This is FallOutGirl1

I think that it is okay to some people to give up some freedoms, but it is also not okay because we are losing and letting them win in a certain way...and that i would rather have freedom then to let them win (terrorists)because they dont deserve it.....=)

[aznboi1]

I think that having freedoms are more important than safety. If it was the other way around then you would not be able to do anything to endanger yours or anyone elses lives or safety to begin with but, there would be no risks whatsoever. I would sacrifice some rights to be safe but not a lot maybe, only some unimportant ones.

[dancingsikik25]

No matter how hard the government tries, we will never be completely safe. It doesn't matter how many freedoms and rights the government tries to take away because our world will still have risks and unsafe features. So no, I don't believe it's okay to take away rights and freedom. I believe that if freedoms and rights are taken away, more laws would be broken. I think that if the government enforced rules to keep us "safe," we would just break them.

[Icecreamqueen3]

I think that being safe is very important, but if i would have to give up certain freedoms, I would not want to be safe. It also depends on what freedoms i would have to give up, though. If the government took avay the right to bear arms, that would be okay becuase it doesnt affect me, but if they gave up the freedom of speech or religion, that would not be okay.

[`Lips[like]roses]

I would prefer lasting liberty over a small, short period of safety anyday! Liberty could last forever, but if you give some of that up, just for a short time period of safety, that is like giving someone $50, and asking for $0.50 back! It is stupid! Without freedoms, anyone can say that someone is breaking the law, just because they feel a little insecure about that person, and they won't be able to have the right to a speedy trial, or speech, or the right to petition. They can say that people doing those things are breaking the law just to get rid of someone they don't like, sort of like the Salem Witch Trials, where the people accused other people of being a witch, just to get them killed.

[babycakes3]

In general, we have not in the last 200 plus years given up any great amount of freedom in order that we are protected. I would not like to give up any of my freedoms, unless it was for a very short period of time and if the government was telling the truth about danger to me or my family. For example if we were told that a terrorist attack was going to take place if my city within the next 24 hours and I had to leave the city I would be willing to leave my property behind until it was safe to come back. If no attack took place, I believe that I should be allowed to return to my home. The dangers of taking away freedoms are very serious because the constitution gives it to us. If we give up out freedoms without questioning why then what would keep the government from taking other freedoms from us. If today freedom of coming to school is taken away from me and if I agree, maybe tomorrow they might tell me that I can not go to the movies or live with my family.

[DAKING6]

I agree with the other comments, some rights can be taken away, but they have to be right that we don't need.
Safety is important, and Liberty is too. For me, I'll take the safety, because it can save lifes, and I'll give away some of my Rights. If it was possible to have safety and liberty at the same time, that would be the best.The government can't take away to much rights, because the citizens would turn against them.

I disagree with SuperDooper1, because if the government doesn't let poeple talk with the attacking country, that wouldn't be fair for them... Then it would turn around and the good people from that country would be against this country, and they will leave, and attack the government.

=!!===================================DA KING=================================!!=

[lilaggie5]

I think that it is part of the governments job to keep the people safe. I believe that it is ok to take some of the people's rights away, but not to the point of being too unconstitutional. The dangers of having people's rights taken away would be:
1. We wouldn't be very free
2. we wouldn't be able to make our own choices

lilaggie5

[fantabular6]

I think that the government can only so far in taking away our rights for safety. The government should have a vote about how far they can go. I think that tapping phones is not okay because people could have personal things to say and the government has no right to listen in on calls frequently. Safety is a very relative term and we can only be so safe and it's not worth it to give up your rights when you'll never truly be completely safe.

[lilbossy073]

I agree with what part of it says. I agree that some freedoms should be takin away for example if we had a terrorism attack then I believe that we would we shouldn't be able to have any contact with the other country at all. But if it was for a religious reason then i wouldn't agree with it at all because i have to stand up for what i believe in at all times. I would be willing to give up talking on the phone but that's all. When you take away certain people's freedom I would be careful because if you take one up that they believe in then they might protest or something. So basically there are limits to taking away freedoms and rights.

[S.Freedom6™]

i would give up any rights as long as it is fair. As long as i don't have a problem with it and keeps me safe. but if the government does some mistakes after they've taken the rights from me, that would be disturbing. Also, i don't want it to be anyway of dictatorships. Now that would suck. †(is this for a grade?)†

[wontonman1]

I think there are some freedoms that could be taken away if our government had to inorder to secure our safety, but freedoms like freedom of speech, and freedom of the press should not be taken away no matter what. I think that our governemt should not take away any rights that might anger a lot of people. wontonman1

[ChristianRower4]

I would give up SOME of my freedoms in order to be protected. For example, I don't mind at airports if security search my bags. Although, it is my personal property and I have a right to keep it private, I don't care that they search it, because in return, I know the flight is more likely to be safer. Some rights though, like Freedom of Religion I wouldn't give up. Some of the dangers of giving up our freedoms is that if we give up too many freedoms, although we may have an extremely safe nation, we wouldn't be able do anything because those freedoms might have been taken away. Personally, I think it all depends on what freedoms you are giving up, for safety.

[purplepower6]

I agree with both sides, but more so with the side that belives our rights should not be taken away during a situation like WWII (world war two) . I agree with the side saying rights could be taken away, but I say that some rights should never be taken away such as freedom of speech, freedom of press, and religion. I also think that one race or one group of people should never be discriminated against like on the airlines today, because of 911. So yes maybe the right to become a citizen like John Adams did should be taken into action if say we were bombed by mexico we should make more restrictions on becoming a citizen, but this would go for all immigrants not just mexico's immigrants.

[abstainencemeansno6]

i think freedom should come before liberty in all cases. Wasnt america made for exactly that, freedom? If you start taking away freedom, you tkae away what our founding fathers fought for, freedom.

Taking away freedom would essentially kill our troops in Iraq- they would have no cause to fight for, therefore, they wouldn't want to be there, and things would deteriorate quickly

[tinaballerina1]

I think it is worth it to give up not major freedoms, but small, not too important freedoms to secure saftey. But not freedoms like we're given up with the Sedition Acts. Or freedoms like the ones that we are giving up now, such as allowing the government to read our mail, listen to our phone converstions or stop all middle eastern travlers. I have personal experience with my mother being stopped at the airport and her having her bags and herself checked over personally by a security guard before being allowed on to a plane and i think that is redeculous.

[Gilmorefan93]

To me it is really what freedoms I would have to give up. Like I hate at the airport how you have to get there like 3-hours earlier than your fight (especially when your flights at 7:00 AM!) but I know that is for our safety so that I am ok to give up so I can get to my destination safely. But if we had to give up religious freedom that wouldn't be ok because some people's religion is all they have in life and that wouldn't be right to take it away. So to answer the question to some degree I would give up some of my freedoms for safety but it really depends on what those freedoms are, But I know that lots of people wouldn't give up their freedoms and they would give up a fight.

[vanillabean4]

I think it really depends on what the issue is and what freedoms we are giving up. I think that it is resonable for the Government to be more strict about rights because I think that our contries safety is really important. But, I also think that there should be a limit to how much of our rights the government takes away. I do not think the government should be allowed to totally take away any of our rights, but they should be able to restrict them the slightest bit. It is dangerous to let the government restrict our rights though because they might abuse their power and it could cause the whole country to be chaotic.

[evanee20075]

I think there should be limits of freedoms that the government can take away to ensure saftey. like they shouldn't take freedom of speech, press, and assembly, or search and seizure. they should be able to though to take away the right to bear arms for certain people like if they have had certain criminal offences.