Freedom Is Our Best Weapon
When President Franklin Delano Roosevelt stood to deliver his first inaugural address in 1933, there were plenty of things for Americans to fear. The economy lay in ruins and war was in the wind. Yet, with 10 simple words, now such a part of our vocabulary that they seem trite, Roosevelt counseled courage: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
Today, a rise of terrorism has stunned the country. And FDR’s advice remains as relevant as ever.
Politicians are hustling to pass more anti-terrorism laws, as if doing so would make the problem go away.
Here in Spokane, where the community has recent firsthand experience with terror bombings, it would be easy to applaud any move to increase security restrictions and the already considerable powers of law enforcement. And it is true that some increased precautions have become wise.
But it would be so easy to go too far. Israel boasts some of the world’s most aggressive, sophisticated security systems - and one of the world’s worst problems with continuing terrorism.
The United States has been remarkably free of terrorism. This is not an accident. The best security system is not a security system at all; it is the commitment to political and personal freedom created by our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Go through the Bill of Rights and you will spot quite a few provisions that would be in jeopardy if the fear of terrorism spurs us to start snooping, inspecting and inhibiting: freedom of assembly, speech, religion, freedom to keep and bear arms, freedom from unreasonable search and seizure …
Go through the Constitution and you will see the best way to change society that ever has been devised. It is a method in which even now we are engaged: the election of a representative government.
Some terrorists have political motives, but their method is self-defeating because it turns the public against them.
Our system of government effectively can be improved when candidates offer distinct and competing views and voters choose among them. This requires a willingness to engage in fierce but peaceful debate - and once we have voted, to go forward together. So far in our history, again and again, the process has worked.
But today, it is not so clear that we still know how to disagree respectfully or how to accept majority decisions.
But it is absolutely clear that the answer to our woes is not to nibble fearfully at freedom. Rather, it is to use the freedom and resources we already have to keep our government responsive and to hunt down the fanatical killers whose tactic is a fundamental assault on the Constitution.
, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = John Webster For the editorial board