How Much for Safety's Sake?

We have lost a lot in our pursuit of safety. In the name of safety, we invaded a country. For safety's sake, we tortured. We imprisoned without cause. And we threw away the key.

The problem with safety as a goal – especially when it’s the only goal – is how safe is safe enough? What other values do you have to sacrifice to be safer?

For safety’s sake we can’t bring liquids on airplanes. Is that enough? Will the xray machines catch smuggled liquids or does every carry on bag need to be searched? Should we be allowing carry on bags at all? How far do we go?

To protect the Capitol building, streets have been closed, Jersey barriers erected and access to many parts of the building restricted. Is that safe enough? Maybe the whole Capitol complex should be closed just to be sure.

Our government is secretly wiretapping Americans to keep us safe. Maybe random searches and seizures would be better. It takes too much time to get a search warrant, better do away with the Fourth Amendment – it’s an impediment to safety.

As a father, I want my son to be safe. I take reasonable precautions – but I can’t absolutely 100 percent guarantee his safety unless I put him in a padded bubble. No freedom. But he’d be safe.

At what point do we cross the same line in the pursuit of national safety? When the stakes are a mushroom cloud or a smallpox outbreak, is any measure of preventive safety too outrageous?

Or, as a freedom loving people, do we accept that even in an age of WMDs we’re not willing to give up our basic freedoms solely in the name of safety? And can we refuse to give in to fears over our safety that lead us to torture and degrade other human beings, even our enemies? Yes, the prohibitions at airports are really just a minor inconvenience and maybe even justified (though I’m skeptical). But torture?

How far are we willing to go in the name of safety? There’s a line somewhere between no liquids on airplanes and waterboarding…and we need to find it. Or we won’t be a society worthy of safekeeping.