For Love of Country
I read somewhere recently that many left-liberals eschew the phrase, patriot. Now, I have to admit that if whoever first used the word had known it would be used to stand for United and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism, I'm sure he'd have been excused if he'd reconsidered ever using the word at all.
ABC news says that although several cities are saying to hell with abusing our liberties in the name of liberty, most people are in favor of the USA PATRIOT act, but I can tell you that my impression is that ABC news hasn't actually been talking to much of anyone or maybe they haven't been asking them specific enough questions. Although a large number of people don't really know what's involved in the act, most everyone I talk to is not in favor of losing the basic freedoms that constitute this country. And they are not in favor of the federal government grabbing rights willy-nilly from good law-abiding citizens. The only reason there isn't a bigger outcry is because a great many people trust other people to behave the way they ought to behave.
We take freedoms for granted and in the general way of things that's good. It speaks well of all of us that our freedoms are universal enough and protected enough that we can take them for granted. But one of the prices of freedom is vigilance and not vigilance in the form of faulty face recognition at airports. Vigilance against encroachments on those very freedoms that we take for granted every day. Because the erosion of freedom can be a subtle thing. It can start with attacks on people we hate, perhaps with good and sufficient reason, then people we fear, then those who just aren't really like us. But always and inevitably, if we are not vigilant, the freedom's that we lose are our own.