Freedom and Security

By Douglas V. Gibbs

When strategies were being pursued to protect our nation from terrorism during the Bush administration, the liberal left's favorite quote by a Founding Father was Ben Franklin's, “Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”

The Patriot Act was the target of their anger, and in some ways one could consider some of the measures as being questionable. Whether it be "illegal phone taps" or the monitoring of money transfers, the safety of the nation and the protection of our freedoms danced a fine line.

The liberals believed that President Bush was overstepping his authority, while sacrificing our freedom for our security - despite the fact that the Democrat-led Congress could have checked his actions at any time with a mere vote to defund the programs.

Problem is, the liberal left does not understand liberty. They believe that freedom is achieved through slavery under the iron fist of an ever expanding centralized government system. And since the liberals can't understand liberty, that means the U.S. Constitution is something completely beyond their comprehension.

Because of philosophies that ride along the leftist rails of the political spectrum, the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution with heavy limitations on the authorities of the federal government. They also knew that to keep the republic they had granted us the people would need to be vigilant, and continuously work to maintain the republic. If the people failed to keep the government on constitutional footing, the founders knew that our individual freedoms, of which they looked upon as something that was a natural right, would be at risk.

Hence, the reason for Ben Franklin's response to a woman when she asked after the Constitutional Convention: "Sir, what have you given us?"

"A republic," replied Franklin, "if you can keep it."

Freedom is something that must be fought for continuously.

A society with common sense laws and a virtuous population is the difference between a Republic and a centralized authoritarian oligarchy.

Freedom is the ability to make your own choices for your own benefit. You give up freedom when you cede the right of your own well being and put the decisions that affect your life in the hands of a body politic.

The liberals that claimed we were giving up freedom for security suddenly forget about their Security-Freedom tradeoffs when it comes to unions, big government programs, and gun control. During the Bush years, the United States did not sacrifice freedom for security. The U.S. Constitution gives the federal government the authority to provide for the common defense, which the Bush administration did admirably. No individual liberties were lost.

Where are those liberals that screamed about those policies now that Obama has not only adopted Bush's policies, but has added to them domestic policies that attempt to take every personal choice out of the hands of the people and put it into the hands of bureaucrats who don't care about the people they serve? Amazingly, the liberal Democrats do this in the name of "the common good," and "morality," like all authoritarians do.

We haven't lost our republic just yet. We have been given an opportunity to begin the process of turning this mess around with the incredible election of 2010. Our freedoms hang in the balance. Our liberty is at risk. It is up to us to return this republic back to the Constitution - if we can keep it.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary