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> whereas internal checkpoints and random house searches certainly could have. I upvoted your original comment because I am pretty sure it was meant as sarcasm
by cr0sh 10y ago
> whereas internal checkpoints and random house searches certainly could have.
I upvoted your original comment because I am pretty sure it was meant as sarcasm. I certainly hope I am still correct on that assessment.
There was a time, not long ago, certainly within my memory and the memories of many others - when we as a country (the USA as well as other countries) looked down upon such activities as being wholly un-American and against our values. We looked on in fear and concern as we heard about what went on in Eastern European countries behind the Iron Curtain - where people risked their lives and freedom braving bullets and who-knows-what-else attempting to cross that divide.
Some even made it. And we cheered when the wall fell.
WHAT THE FUCK HAS HAPPENED TO US?
- krapp 10y ago>WHAT THE FUCK HAS HAPPENED TO US? We were attacked on 9/11, and our government succeeded in convincing many of us that the rights we were taking for granted were in fact making us vulnerable to an existential enemy within, and needed to be incrementally deconstructed in light of the "new normal."
- mikeash 10y agoYou are correct. The whole comment was intended as a reductio ad absurdum. I understand that sarcasm is tough to detect, though, so I can see why you might be worried! I am serious that internal checkpoints and random house searches could have prevented past terrorist attacks, and would probably prevent future ones. I don't, however, think it's a worthwhile tradeoff, not even close.