It is upsetting to hear all but one of the GOP candidates fall all over themselves to defend the Patriot Act and its progeny. One point which is never made is that terrorism is not a threat to the sovereignty of our nation. It is not difficult to imagine the federal government becoming so large and so invasive that it is able to mitigate most threats of terrorism. Of course, the trade off for such comprehensive security is the abandonment of the Constitution and the thousand years of Anglo-American jurisprudence it includes. What is much harder to think up is a scenario wherein a terrorist attack destroys the United States.
This is not to minimize the remote but serious possibility of a major terrorist attack employing perhaps nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction. But even if such means were used, the country would prevail. It is political heresy to say Americans are afraid, apparently suggesting 9/11 was a result of anything other than simple hatred is anti-American, but the fact is, we need to stop being so frightened.
Oddly, the Ron Paul position is not the weak position here- it's the brave one. Accept the fact that surrendering liberty for full protection is worse than being attacked. Accept the risk of being injured, in order to protect your independence and freedom.
Because if we give up the Fourth Amendment, or allow indefinite detentions of persons in the US, or put cameras on every street corner, we do jeopardize the entire nation.
Empires fall from invasion, economic collapse, or self-destruction. There is no chance we are going to be destroyed or invaded. Economic collapse, not by chance fueled by excessive federal largesses, is a concern. But so is a more subtle, dangerous threat. If we abandon every principle for which the country was founded, then even if the flag is the same and the country is safe, we have lost everything.
Sensible libertarian views on nearly everything- except foreign affairs.