Cannot take sacrifices to liberty to extreme

In his March 2 letter defending the Tea Partier's anti-government positions, Steven Radig quotes Benjamin Franklin's famous saying: “He who sacrifices liberty for security will lose both and deserve neither.” There is truth in that,

but as with all things, cannot be taken to an extreme

Should Franklin's words be used as an argument for no security screening at airports, where we sacrifice a bit of liberty for the security of not being blown out of the sky by a terrorist bomb? Is it an argument against Social Security, which has helped prevent widespread poverty among the elderly? Is it an argument against speed limits, pollution laws or any other law which says we cannot do certain things because we must take the safety and security of others into consideration?

Each of us sacrifices a bit of our liberty a hundred times a day, and could not live a civilized life without doing so.

Joe Behrendt

West Liberty