Security Vs. Civil Liberties By Richard Posner

Decent Essays
In Security vs Civil Liberties by Richard Posner, Posner addresses that liberty and security should be balanced by not prioritizing liberty. Although libertarians believe that concerns about national security will lead to the erosion of civil liberties, Richard Posner recognizes that the government needs to do a better job in regulating liberty for the national security of our country. Throughout history, the United States has continually underestimated dangers to our country. For example citizens did not emphasize the dangers of secession well enough, leading to the Civil War, the bombing of pearl harbor and the Cuban Missile crisis. Two interests Richard Posner identifies are public-safety interest and liberty interest. Posner argues that

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    The current Constitution allows for an amendment to be passed with ⅔ votes from both chambers of Congress and also with ¾ of the state’s approval or with ⅔ of the state legislatures calling for a convention. Sabato’s view on calling a convention is interesting in that his interpretation of a state’s petition to call a Constitutional Convention never dies as well as the visual of a light on, light off policy. Proposed amendments that a state switches it’s light on for will remain on until they reach 34 states with their lights on or until the state shuts it’s light off. This visual allows for a Convention to be called the moment the 34th state light went on, meaning a Convention could be called promptly. The one area Sabato says needs to be addressed is the lack of a standardized way of submitting applications for an amendment or convention.…

    • 1230 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Larry Sabato, an American political scientist who graduated from the University of Oxford, recommends a new constitutional convention to revise the current United States constitution to change all three branches of government. The proposals Sabato is offering do not do any good, as this paper proves later. Constitutional amendments can be great in cases like the 14th or 21st, but these proposals would not do anything like that . Sabato’s opinion on how to revise the judicial branch by increasing the number of Supreme Court justices from nine to twelve and adding a Balanced Budget amendment to prevent any deficit spending are good ideas in theory, but in reality, neither would work.…

    • 1870 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    The evidence he uses can be separated into two sections: The historical libertarian ideas and the actual framing of the Bill of Rights. The historical libertarian ideas encompass the ideas of the armed civilian on the character of the nation, the fear of tyrannical governments and a comparison of American republican virtue with decadence and disarmament under European monarchies. Discussion of the framing of the Bill of Rights includes how large numbers of state amendments were melded into a few final amendments and how concerns for the potential to disarm individuals shaped the framers…

    • 1909 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ronald Reagan’s, A Time for Choosing Speech, main points are as follows: did we still retain the knowledge of the definition of freedom according to our Founding Fathers? “It’s time we asked ourselves if we still know the freedoms intended for us by the Founding Fathers” (Reagan 1). Did we still define government on those founding beliefs? A people that could be self-governed or would we continue to redefine our definition of government until it was completely transformed into totalitarianism. Reagan believed there was no right or left to decide between; he believed there was only a government and people evolving or decaying.…

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    As the nation has evolved, the interpretation of the Constitution has varied. While the Sixth Amendment has been largely upheld in most domestic cases, in fact it has routinely been denied to those who are entitled to its protection when the government deems the situation as a threat to national security. Similarly, the understanding of the Eighth Amendment has been strictly interpreted in matters of domestic law, but the meaning is deviated from in cases where national security has taken the…

    • 1252 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Constitution guards against tyranny by utilizing all three branches to keep each other in check. Each branch of government is separate, which allows them to not abuse their power and take advantage of people. Small and large states need to have one representative, as well as two senators. The three branches of government have prevented tyranny for a long time.…

    • 414 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In "When Freedoms Collide" George writes about Elane Photography, in specific the horrid files of discrimination and law suits thrown at the owners: Elane Huguenin and her husband. It all began when Elane was contacted by a women named Vanessa Willock who asked to hire Elane Photography for her same gender commitment ceremony. Elane simply rejected because of religious reasons. After Willock got a response from Elane stating she does not photograph same sex marriage, her partner decided to also email Elane about a marriage she was having. Her partner did not disclose that it was same sex marriage and therefor Elane agreed to photograph.…

    • 732 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Freedom is a term that is perceived in many different ways. American essayist and social critic H. L. Mencken once wrote, “The average man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe.” If you think of being free as having a say in government based decisions then some would agree with such a statement, however they need only to look at history to see such a statement disproved. Many people would take any risk necessary, including endangering their life, in order to experience freedom.…

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In her essay “A First Amendment Junkie”, Susan Jacoby argues that there needs to be an interpretation of the First Amendment, specifically when it comes to forms of expression such as pornography. Jacoby first states that she has received hate from feminists for her stance and comments on pornography. She asserts that this argument over pornography is no different than any other argument made about the First Amendment. Pornography is not anymore disgusting or disturbing than the other First Amendment arguments according to Jacoby. Not only are all of the arguments the same, but Jacoby states that they blur the lines between actions and thoughts.…

    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In our modern society, there exists this culture of fear that plagues all levels of society. This infection is believed by the masses to only be cured by the notion of security. Security, however, only prompts more fear. In effort to protect our ways of life, people justify various decisions and by these justifications, the commercialization of security is deemed acceptable and has become normalized. Professor Park posits that the Control need is the source of all evil.…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Federalism in the United States is based on a two-level government system that control is divided between national government and subnational government. The significant points in this chapter further explains federalism, the articles of confederation and new federalism. Federalism is a two level geographical system of government in which control is distributed between national and state government. It serves three main points: first; it’s part of a system of official checks and balances that were created to influence power by sharing it between two levels of government, second; it produces a political system where interest can be characterized in the national government, and third; federalism creates governance system where the states can…

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    H.L Mencken (1880 - 1956), an American essayist and social critic once wrote, “The average man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe.” In other words, Mencken claimed that humans prioritize safety over freedom. That means a man will gladly give up anything, including his rights and liberties, to acquire the protection he desires. This quote contradicts with the belief that America had been built upon.…

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In our modern society, guns are entwined with escalating arguments about gun control and gun violence. Generally speaking, the quarrel scorches across the American terrain like a raging fire; practically every day there is a news story related to a firing arm. To demonstrate, a recent Central News Network article debriefs gun presence in relation to violence and other tragedies. In this case, guns association with homicides, terrorism and mass shootings. In compliance with statistics, there are more gun owners in the United States than anywhere else in the globe.…

    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Freedom Vs Security

    • 1805 Words
    • 8 Pages

    First of all “freedom” and “security” are both vague concepts that are both equally important and therefore there is a trade off between them. They are both interconnected and neglecting one in the pursuit of the other can cause a problem in that society. This essay aims to highlight both the advantages and disadvantages of freedom and security at an individual and societal level. It will also incorporate use of significant examples in different countries relating to these concepts focusing on the Uk and America. Finally it will introduce the concepts of Liberalism and totalitarianism and how they apply to freedom and security.…

    • 1805 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A person truly cannot feel safe while being ‘protected’ by a government that cares for only themselves. There has been a long history of governmental greed that harks back to even the creation of humans since greed has been in our hearts since the very beginning. The exceptionally blunt example is Orwell’s novel “1984”, a clear depiction of a government’s power being misused in favor of their own aspirations. Orwell wrote this novel to express a truth in government and to predict the future that may come from totalitarianism. When a person compares “1984” to the history of man, it provides a distinct connection to one another by using common human actions and desires in a dark, truthful way.…

    • 1262 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays