Which scares you more, terrorism or a police state?

Just about every time there is another terror attack, there are political voices from the right clamoring for a move toward becoming a police state in order to “keep us safe”. It’s strange, since at all other times, these same individuals seem to hate government and want it reduced in size till they can drown it in a bathtub.

It is true that it is only a matter of time till some terror cell manages to get their hands on bio-weapons or a dirty bomb filled with radioactive material. And with countries like Pakistan and North Korea in possession of nuclear weapons, poorly secured nukes in Russia, and state sponsors of terrorism like Iran on their way to becoming a nuclear power; the potential for a nuclear bomb in a major city is disturbingly real. But it is equally true that police states in the 20th century have been responsible for killing hundreds of millions of their own citizens. Where do you think the correct balance between security and freedom lies today?