Security in a Free State

Good discussion over at Tam’s place about risk vs. reward in having a security state. 

The prevailing conclusion there was that you cannot prevent, or defend against, the occasional terrorist attack/bombing in a free society.  I agree. 

However, I wanted to add an addendum, (or a caveat, if you will) that says that you can’t really prevent this stuff, even in a totally closed and NOT free society, either. 

Nazi occupied France was under the occupation of the freaking Nazis – there was never a more closed, repressed, unfree society, and yet these attacks occurred all the time.  Iraq and Afghanistan during our recent incursions were under marshal law, and yet these attacks occurred daily.  Northern Ireland during British occupation was under marshal law, and yet during that period of time, I recall hearing about these attacks happening quite regularly.

Then, TJIC, the old stand-by of damn fine logic and cutting analysis, made the following point:

<i>You can't defend against it (terrorism – ed) in a slave society either.

The murder rate in jails - where guns and knives is (sic) forbidden - is higher than in the worst neighborhoods.</i>

The point is made, then.  To try and protect against these things is folly.  The risk of being blown up in a terrorist attack is 4 times lower than the risk of being struck by lightning, and yet we don’t have a TSA, NSA wiretapping, travel being seen as a priviledge rather than a right, the US PATRIOT Act, gun control, the BATF, two unending and massively expensive wars, and all the other forms of “security” that we’ve created, in full or in part, to protect against lightning strike, do we, even despite the risk being four times greater?  Terrorism is a false menace, with the intent and design to affect political change using fear and coercion.  They are playing us like marionettes, because we are doing exactly what they want us to do in response to their actions.

Knowing that, who do you consider to be winning the War on Terror? 

Personally, I think we’re losing, because we are allowing our government to defeat us FOR the terrorists, by proxy.