> Ben Franklin's observation that "those who would trade liberty for security deserve neither"
It is an opinion, not an observation ('deserve' in particular is not an observation). Just because someone famous said a thing doesn't make it true, or even true-ish. If you want to be such a purist about Franklin's comment, then abolish the police altogether; you'll rapidly see that Franklin's comment is not meant to be read in such a purist way. Or to put it another way: where do you draw the line with Franklin's comment?
The article then goes on to talk about gun rights for some reason, with the usual canards thrown in, plus a bit of good ol' selective reporting: "gun deaths are down by half in the past 25 years!", neatly ignoring that they're measuring from the peak, not from the previous baseline. And the US homicide rate is still nearly four times higher than most other western democracies...
> > Ben Franklin's observation that "those who would trade liberty for security deserve neither"
> It is an opinion, not an observation* ('deserve' in particular is not an observation).
And the quote is both butchered here (the original is: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety") and -- as it usually is -- applied poorly considering its original context. [0]
Ah, thanks for that. I've seen the shortened version so often I'd come to believe that was the actual quote. The longer version makes much more sense and is far less absolutist.
It is an opinion, not an observation ('deserve' in particular is not an observation). Just because someone famous said a thing doesn't make it true, or even true-ish. If you want to be such a purist about Franklin's comment, then abolish the police altogether; you'll rapidly see that Franklin's comment is not meant to be read in such a purist way. Or to put it another way: where do you draw the line with Franklin's comment?
The article then goes on to talk about gun rights for some reason, with the usual canards thrown in, plus a bit of good ol' selective reporting: "gun deaths are down by half in the past 25 years!", neatly ignoring that they're measuring from the peak, not from the previous baseline. And the US homicide rate is still nearly four times higher than most other western democracies...