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September 14, 2006
Shaking in their stockings
John Weidner asks why we on the Left think that those on the Right are terrified of terrorists. It’s quite simple, really: they think that we ought to give up some freedom, we don’t...
See, the president has asked us to allow warrantless wiretapping of American Citizens. We, um... don’t. They’d like all your records to be wide open to the government. We.... wouldn’t. They think that dealing with terrorism ought to be the number 1 priority of America. We think that—strictly on a fatalities/year bassis—that bad traffic ought to be a bit higher on the list...
All life entails some risk. We can, if we wish, do everything we can to eliminate all possible risk from our society. We could make cars go 20 miles an hour, put all passengers in ultra thick padded suites and remove the glass. We could outlaw double-bacon cheeseburgers. We could even say that bungi jumping carries too much risk and therefore ought to be outlawed. We could--- we could do many things. But we don’t...
Americans say that they’d rather run the minor risk of dying than do any of these things. Americans stand a minor risk of dying from terrorism. The ordinary means of law enforcement and our military/diplomatic abilities suffice to keep us by and large safe...
So, if Mr. Weidner wishes to convince me that he’s not terrified of the terrorists, he can repeat after me: “I [your name here] am an American, damn it. I would rather take an infinitesimal chance of dying on an airplane than wait around an airport in my socks.” Do that, John, and I’ll believe you’re man enough...
Posted by Andrew at September 14, 2006 10:54 PM