Reread an old article by BruceSchneier from his February 15, 2004 newsletter:
The laws limiting police power were put in place to protect us from police abuse. Privacy protects us from threats by government, corporations, and individuals. And the greatest strength of our nation comes from our freedoms, our openness, our liberties, and our system of justice. Ben Franklin once said: “Those who would give up essential liberty for temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Since 9/11 Americans have squandered an enormous amount of liberty, and we didn’t even get any temporary safety in return. ¹
And another one:
Identification and profiling don’t provide very good security, and they do so at an enormous cost. Dropping ID checks completely, and engaging in random screening where appropriate, is a far better security trade-off. People who know they’re being watched, and that their innocent actions can result in police scrutiny, are people who become scared to step out of line. They know that they can be put on a “bad list” at any time. People living in this kind of society are not free, despite any illusionary security they receive. It’s contrary to all the ideals that went into founding the United States. ²
#Security