Protect the country or protect individual freedoms?

People of all parties ridicule Bush for many things, including the Patriot Act, which Obama now also supports as well as many in the US government.

Read the following and tell me if you truly believe that our personal freedoms trump our national security.

Britain 1973—-Due to IRA violence, British Parliamentpassed the Emergency Provision Act (arrest, seizure, relaxed evidence and lone judge.)

Germany 1976——Baader-Meinhof group. (Detention without warrant, removal of constraints on search and seizure.)

Italy 1978—Abduction and murder of PM Moro (Same as Germany, with the additional that terrorists could turn themselves in and turn state witness with amnesty.)

France Mid 80’s—Hizbollah bombings leading to 1986 active anti-terror policy.

Japan 1995—Japanese fundamentalists formed private militia’s (umlimited surveillance and aggressive search and seizure.)

All of these proved effective. European domestic terror groups were eliminated one by one. All reached a ‘moment of truth’ when they took action against terrorism, by curtailing peronal freedoms of their people.

99% of people use their freedoms to do no harm, but the other 1% are capable of abusing freedoms, like David Koresh and his stockpile.

After reading these facts from history (in part), do you feel that the Patriot Act is still something for the US to be ashamed of?