This is being mocked, to some extent justly, but I have to admit I do agree with the principle. I know, I know, it goes against the divine founders willing to die for a free slave-owning nation, that after only one massive internal war and some fierce civil rights battles has turned out comparable to the other English nations.
Setting them aside, though, I personally think what makes freedom at all worthwhile is people actually being able to build the lives they want. People are less free when they’re stuck trying not to be killed by terrorists, just as they’re less free when they have to worry about crossing the police, to check what they say when government spies are listening, to not be able to marry who they want, to work in a sweatshop in hopes of feeding their kids or paying medical bills.
I understand not everyone agrees with this view, but I doubt I’m alone in it, and more to the point I think making it the debate is accepting a false dichotomy. The big lie here is that terrorists are the serious threat to American lives, and not the neoliberal-fascist blend that people like Christie are peddling. For ordinary citizens, freedom and security should really be the same side against them.
