The US has really always been "practical" when it comes to Civil Liberties during times of war or disaster, going back to the Alien and Sedition Act: https://en

The US has really always been "practical" when it comes to Civil Liberties during times of war or disaster, going back to the Alien and Sedition Act: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_and_Sedition_Acts https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_and_Sedition_Acts It's easy to be cynical about the way the US government is heading, but I believe that Americans care too much about their rights to let this type of thing continue. I mean, sure we have our fair share of threats to our democracy, but we also have a lot of rights in terms of fighting those threats. For example, I feel we have stronger protections for freedom of speech than most industrialized countries. As I understand it, in the UK you have nothing to prevent prior restraint on the part of the government. That is, the government can censor you before you publish something. In the US, this is illegal (Of course, the government can still punish you for publishing something illegal. They can only do it after it's been published.) Also, we've gone to great lengths to protect the rights of even the worst groups (the KKK, Fred Phelps and company), while some countries have provisions against this sort of thing. Long story short, I'm disappointed with the state of American democracy, but I'm hopeful. I think when more people learn about what's going on behind the scenes, things will change for the better. EDIT: Here's a fun fact. Part of the Alien and Sedition acts are still the law in the US: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/50/21 http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/50/21