Der Besitzer der Firma Counterpane, der einen monatlichen Newsletter zu Sicherheitsfragen herausgibt, bewertet die jetzige Situation sehr kritisch, besonders da der Ruf nach einem starken Staat wieder lauter wird. Der Abschnitt zu diesem Thema im englischen Original, die nicht in allen Punkten mit der Meinung des GROSSEN BRUDERS übereinstimmt. Die Gesellschaft, von der er spricht, ist natürlich immer die US-amerikanische.

All day I fielded phone calls from reporters looking for the „computer
security angle“ to the story. I couldn’t find one, although I expect
several to come out of the aftermath.

Calls for increased security began immediately. Unfortunately, the
quickest and easy way to satisfy those demands is by decreasing
liberties. This is always short sighted; real security solutions exist
that preserve the free society that we all hold dear, but they’re harder
to
find and require reasoned debate. Strong police forces without
Constitutional limitations might appeal to those wanting immediate
safety,
but the reality is the opposite. Laws that limit police power can
increase
security, by enforcing honesty, integrity, and fairness. It is our very
liberties that make our society as safe as it is.

In times of crisis it’s easy to disregard these liberties or, worse, to
actively attack them and stigmatize those who support them. We’ve
already
seen government proposals for increased wiretapping capabilities and
renewed rhetoric about encryption limitations. I fully expect more
automatic surveillance of ordinary citizens, limits on information flow
and
digital-security technologies, and general xenophobia. I do not expect
much debate about their actual effectiveness, or their effects on freedom
and liberty. It’s easier just to react. In 1996, TWA Flight 800
exploded
and crashed in the Atlantic. Originally people thought it was a missile
attack. The FBI demanded, and Congress passed, a law giving law
enforcement greater abilities to expel aliens from the country.
Eventually
we learned the crash was caused by a mechanical malfunction, but the law
still stands.

We live in a world where nation states are not the only institutions
which
wield power. International bodies, corporations, non-governmental
organizations, pan-national ethnicities, and disparate political groups
all
have the ability to affect the world in an unprecedented manner. As we
adjust to this new reality, it is important that we don’t become the very
forces we abhor. I consider the terrorist attacks on September 11th to
be
an attack against America’s ideals. If our freedoms erode because of
those
attacks, then the terrorists have won.

The ideals we uphold during a crisis define who we are. Freedom and
liberty have a price, and that price is constant vigilance so it not be
taken from us in the name of security. Ben Franklin said something that
was often repeated during the American Revolutionary War: „They that can
give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve
neither liberty nor safety.“ It is no less true today.