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December 28, 2005
Confused Americans for Truth - Abusing Ben Franklin for Political Purposes
Ben Franklin once said "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Dr. Franklin turned many a clever phrase in his day, but that doesn't mean he has the last word in discussion of the Patriot Act.
Before we go too far, it's worth noting that Franklin was talking about liberty, not privacy. There is a relationship between the two, but I find it strange that no one bothers to quote Franklin when we're talking about the liberty to choose how your children are taught or smoke cigarettes in public. Instead, he's used to protect us from the government trying to find out whether or not we're terrorists.
The truth is, the government must strike a balance between privacy and security. Reduced privacy leads to a certain number of innocent private lives disrupted and reduced security leads to a certain number of successful terror attacks. The NSA data mining effort did not take place in a vacuum: it actually stopped real terror plots.
Instead of quoting Ben Franklin, we should be quoting Rick Moran, who points out that data mining is not the same as eavesdropping. Instead of scrapping the program altogether, we should be talking about how much court involvement is required to move an investiagion from picking up somebody's name during a computer search and actually listening to private conversations.
Liberals are allowed to frame the discussion in absolutes (e.g. Bush is practicing fascism) because of the slippery slope argument: a small decrease in liberty will grow larger over time. This has certainly been the case with liberal causes like gun control and anti-smoking laws, but in fact, the slippery slope works both ways. We are in just as much danger from unchecked terrorism as we are from unchecked intrusion. The answer to Ben Franklin is to see the very real cost on both sides of the equation. I had Bruce put together a Flash movie for me and placed it below the fold.
You can adjust the slider bar to any point between absolute privacy and absolute security. The more secure we are, the more lives are disrupted by the release of private information on innocent citizens. The more private we are, the more people will die in terror attacks.
It's tons of fun quoting Franklin, but if the NSA had not foiled the attack on the Brooklyn Bridge, no one would have laughed during the subsequent Senate investigation. My privacy is important to me: you can't catch very many rabbits when they know where you're lurking on any given day. I do understand, however, that the rabbits have a different point of view. I think Ben Franklin would have, too.
Respectfully submitted,
Ferdinand T. Cat
# At Wed 2:22 PM | Permalink | Trackback URI | Comments (10) | More Confused Americans for Truth
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Comments
Posted by: Chuck K at January 25, 2006 8:18 AM
Posted by: Jakester at January 25, 2006 9:45 AM
I don't know about you guys, but I consider the 4th Amendment to the Bill of Rights to be an "essential liberty" and I also think the NSA warrantess wiretapping qualifies as providing temporary safety.
Then again, I actually care about the Constitution. Maybe that is my problem?
Posted by: The Disenfranchised Voter at January 26, 2006 7:17 PM
Didn't think so.
In any case, you are treating this quote by Ben Franklin as if it were Holy Writ. If he really meant what you think he did, then he was wrong, for all the reasons I've stated. He's not a cat, so he's allowed.
Posted by: Ferdy ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.conservativecat.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at January 26, 2006 11:51 PM
I am a full supporter of the entire Bill of Rights.
The right to bear arms is a necessary right in order to ensure a just government.
Posted by: The Disenfranchised Voter at January 27, 2006 7:12 AM
And by the way, you and the folks at Gtown Law screwed up. Ben Franklin, in a letter to David Hume, denied saying that.
Posted by: Benji at January 27, 2006 2:49 PM
How about some proof?
Posted by: The Disenfranchised Voter at January 28, 2006 12:35 AM
Of course, you are free to disbelieve this too.
Posted by: Amos the Poker Cat at May 15, 2006 5:30 PM
With the information thus far available the issue of authorship of the statement is not yet definitely resolved, but the evidence indicates it was very likely Franklin, who in the Poor Richard's Almanack of 1738 is known to have written a similar proverb: "Sell not virtue to purchase wealth, nor Liberty to purchase power."
Funny, even the citation you provided says Franklin most likely said it. Conservatives are horrible at debate. It seems you'll say anything just to get a liberal to cower.
Posted by: DaveyJay at July 4, 2006 9:32 PM
Whether or not Franklin said it has nothing to do with my point, which is that the issue here is striking a balance rather than seeking an absolute. That balance may or may not include international wiretapping.
Dragging Franklin into the debate solves nothing. Liberals are hoping that conservatives will cower before Franklin's quotation. I am the one arguing that we should instead engage in honest debate.
Posted by: Ferdy at July 6, 2006 8:19 PM
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