Abraham Lincoln and the erosion of liberty


A columnist thinks we should give up more freedom for security
This one worries me. Not so much the history, which Mr. Zimmerman has spot on. But his conclusions.

That should sound familiar, too. Indeed, almost everything President Bush has done in the "War on Terror" echoes Lincoln's actions during the War Between the States. In the name of national security, the Bush administration has jailed suspected terrorists without showing cause. It has denied them the right to counsel and other basic liberties. It has conducted warrantless eavesdrops on phone calls and e-mails. And it has insisted that the White House _ not Congress _ has the right to do all of this, on its own.

As in the Civil War, meanwhile, the Supreme Court has sought to rein in the president. Most recently, it ruled that the White House could not establish secret military commissions without congressional authority. It's still not clear how the president _ or Congress _ will respond.

But here's what is clear: Benjamin Franklin was wrong. And Abraham Lincoln was right.

There are times when dangers are so immediate _ and so terrifying _ that we do need to sacrifice some freedoms to stop them. And the Civil War was one of those times.

Is the "War on Terror" another? Not yet. Whatever the threat of Islamic terrorism, it doesn't come close to the peril that the Confederates posed to the Union in 1861. Until President Bush can explain exactly why we need his extra-legal measures, we should all stand in opposition to them.

At the same time, though, liberals like myself need to start thinking _ and talking _ about when we, too, would give up some liberties to save the Union. A rash of suicide bombers' striking several American cities at the same time? A "dirty bomb" or nuclear attack? A smallpox or anthrax attack?

You might reply that our liberties define our nation: If we abandon them, we give up on America itself. But Abraham Lincoln said otherwise, and lucky for us. By sacrificing a bit of freedom for suspected Confederate sympathizers, he helped win freedom for nearly 4 million enslaved African-Americans.

By now you know that I believe the War on Terror is necessary, partially as restitution, but mainly to avoid a much bigger and messier war.

At the same time, I strongly believe that most of the security problems domestically were caused by bad law. Obviously the illegal immigration problem is part of that, but it goes much further.

Just as one example, if the Federal government had not been so intent on disarming the populace over decades, the 9-11 hijackers might have faced ten or so heavily armed citizens per plane. There was a cartoon floating around the internet right after that pretty much said the same thing.

It took years to get rid of the "emergency measures" after the Civil War. Some never went away completely. And at least one, the income tax, made a comeback a couple of generations later.

What price liberty?

"I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"

Patrick Henry knew.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Thu - August 3, 2006 at 09:34 AM  Tag


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