Almost 250 Years Ago

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Benjamin Franklin,
Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759
US author, diplomat, inventor, physicist, politician, & printer (1706 - 1790)


I know I want to be safe but at what cost to my personal freedom? We have already seen a dramatic change in the activities we need to go through just to get on a plane. Then there are the alleged phone records scandal and the alleged H-P scandal. Personally I don't know what frightens me more: telling me I should be aware of my surroundings and people and report anything suspicious or the possibility that someone is investigating my every move, phone call, email, etc. surreptitiously.

Wow, did Ben have it right? If you give up liberty, even temporarily, you are no more safe and you have lost some freedoms. Liberty - that's what makes us strong - this country, you and me. With liberty we grow, without it we stagnant because we are paralyzed with fear. I can not live in fear of the unknown for the rest of my life.

I know I don't feel any safer today than 5 years ago. Truth be told, I probably feel less safe. What I can do is protect myself and my family the best way I know. I also will continue to support and vote for those who also believe as Ben Franklin did so many years ago.


Tags: Observations, Personal Lessons, Relationships, Travel, Vacation, Family