do you think eternal vigilance is the price of freedom?
151488
yes, because vigilance balances man's tendency to abuse not only his liberties but others as well. Vigilance is all that keeps the world from utter despotism.
1064858
YES.  Maybe for different reasons.\n\nThis is a cage for Christians.\n\nWe will be set free.\n\n.         :)\n\n.
486095
Yes, because many great Americans have sacraficed personal freedom and thier brave lives for these devine principles, the good that we stand for.I still get tears  when I hear this pledge.
853453
No not at all it merely expresses the necessity of mankind to be free of tyranny be it religious or political or both.  All memoid structures have built in ways of self preservation to censure that which threatens it's existence; be it fascism or mind control by repeated lying it's still designed to the same purpose. one must see through the propaganda to see the sight of real freedom and not just vain and false promises.
273917
there is nothing more important than freedom and human rights...NOTHING .and thats something we should all take a very close look at today in this country [usa]... "those who will trade freedom for security will end up with niether"[ pass it on]... winston churchill
307301
If you give up freedom for security, you'll end up with neither.  This is paraphrasing a statement made by that Ben Franklin guy several years ago :)  I think it's true, though.  Who cares if you are safe, if you have no freedom? If I locked you up in a box and kept you under my bed, I could totally protect you and keep you safe from everything... but would it be worth it?
966542
Benjamin Franklin, one of the smartest American to ever stand on this soil said: "People willing to trade their freedom for temporary security deserve neither and will lose both."  What holds true at the founding of this country holds today.  I think you should rethink your ideas with less emotion and fear of 911.  You have the courage enough to face countless attacks without giving up any of the Rights that were written for you in the Bill of Rights of your Constitution.  Once you give up these rights...the tyrants win.
803991
Absolutely not. Men and women fought, died and were horrifically wounded in 2 world wars to ensure freedoms that included a range of civil liberties that we now take so much for granted that we seem to care less as they are being progressively eroded by those in positions of power in this country. We are the most spied on citizens in the "free" world, and our freedoms are being taken away by the day. Those vociferous people who constantly repeat the politician's and police mantra that "if you have done no wrong, you have nothing to fear" will be the first to complain when we are subjugated, monitored and controlled to such a degree, in the not too distant future, that they are no longer allowed to even voice their protest.  We are calmly sleep-walking into a totalitarian police state, and most of the responders in this forum appear to think that's fine. I despair for our future, and our liberty, when you have so blithely let it go.
804018
My religion has been hassled by the government tons of times. We normally win though =]. I don't think that there is such a thing as being truly free.\n\n-Wiccan teen )O(
1102955
freedom and eternal happieness
980551
the price of liberty is eternal vigilance..to accept the weapon in the hands of known terrorist sympathisers is risky at best...you may be comfortable with this type of national security issue...IM NOT.
928164
Me? Absolutely none.\n\nThey that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. – Benjamin Franklin\n\nOne of the greatest delusions in the world is the hope that the evils in this world are to be cured by legislation. – Thomas B. Reed (1886)\n\nIf you are not free to choose wrongly and irresponsibly, you are not free at all. – Jacob Hornberger (1995)\n\nGovernment is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. – George Washington\n\nThe true danger is when Liberty is nibbled away, for expedients. – Edmund Burke (1899)\n\nThe evils of tyranny are rarely seen but by him who resists it. – John Hay (1872)\n\nThe best government is the one that charges you the least blackmail for leaving you alone. – Thomas Rudmose-Brown\n\nI should have loved freedom, I believe, at all times, but in the time in which we live I am ready to worship it. – Alexis De Toqueville\n\nThe whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed – and hence clamorous to be led to safety – by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary. – H.L. Mencken
819596
What a brilliant topic!  You coulld write heaps on this.  Three items I'd be prepared to give up? Let's see, I object to too much government interference in my life, but acknowledge the need for a central organising power.  So, perhaps look at what changes have happened, especially since 9/11, to personal freedoms. And what people have seemed to accept, more or less willingly, in order to ensure safety.  It's much easier to list three items you WOULDN"T give up.  I wouldn't give up right to free speech, for example.  It's too important.
74433
I don't fell like I was sold out - there is a price to pay for freedom, I served in Vietnam, would serve today to stop terror, so my grandchildren can live in a safe place, of course I have nothing to hide!
533105
Sic vis pacem parabellum\n"If you desire peace, prepare for war."\n\nWithout war, there can be no peace. It sounds like a paradox, I know, but it's true. True peace is won through war, and can only be truly appreciated after it has been fought, bled, and died for. However high the cost of war may be, sometimes the cost of not going to war can be higher. Being a pacifist will assuredly make you a victim. We can't just forgive and forget every transgression commited against us and expect to be respected or taken seriously. Would you respect someone who allows others to take advantage of their good nature at will? I want peace (believe it or not), but not at the expense of our national sovereignty and dignity. Simply appeasing the demands of dictators and terrorists to avoid war isn't peace, that is scarcely better than slavery. As cynical as it sounds, you have to kick some a*s every now and then to be respected. Such is the nature of the world and human nature in general. If you want to believe in the peace at any price fantasy, that's up to you. But I would rather die a free man with a gun in my hands than live for a hundred years by our enemy's permission. \n\nThe only earth the meek will inherit is the 6x4 plot they are buried in.\n\nREMEMBER 9/11\nNEVER FORGIVE! NEVER FORGET!\nPEACE THROUGH VICTORY!
921475
Benjamin Franklin:\n\n"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."\n\nIt's one of my all-time favorite quotes!\n\n.
578569
Yes I think that is a very good idea, and yet we do have something called "THE GOLDEN RULE", that is uniformly a part of every religion of the world.\nJust a reminder of the definition: "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you". (exception) Buddhism: "Do not do unto others as you would not have them do unto you".\nYet, your point is well taken, that it is beyond the moral capacity of most individuals and governments to NOT follow "The Golden Rule" or be Meddlesome.\nQuite frankly, I'm tired of it just as I suspect you are!