Liberty vs Security - It's either, or.

Below are a few pearls of wisdom on the topic of liberty vs security:

"Quote[On ancient Athens]: In the end, more than freedom, they wanted security. They wanted a comfortable life, and they lost it all – security, comfort, and freedom. When the Athenians finally wanted not to give to society but for society to give to them, when the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again." – Edward Gibbon

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." – Second Amendment to the Constitution

"Those who trade liberty for security have neither. " - Anonymous

"For those looking for security, be forewarned that there's nothing more insecure than a political promise." – Harry Browne

"Most people want security in this world, not liberty." – H.L. Mencken (1880-1956)

"Few of us seem to want to keep government out of our personal affairs and responsibilities. Many of us seem to favor various types of government guaranteed and compulsory 'security.' We say that we want personal freedom, but we demand government housing, government price controls, government-guaranteed jobs and wages. We boast that we are responsible persons, but we vote for candidates who promise us special privileges, government pensions, government subsidies, and government electricity." – Dean Russell

"Freedom is not a luxury that we can indulge in when at last we have security and prosperity and enlightenment; it is, rather, antecedent to all of these, for without it we can have neither security nor prosperity nor enlightenment." – Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998), Freedom, Loyalty and Dissent, 1954

"F x S=k. The product of freedom and security is a constant." – Anonymous

"As the state grows, one's sense of self-ownership is destroyed, liberty is traded for 'security,' the human spirit diminishes, and the citizenry increasingly thinks and behaves like dependent children." – Eric Englund in Income Taxes, Obesity, and Other Maladies of Nanny Statism 2/28/05.

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." – Benjamin Franklin

"A personal note to the Founding Fathers: We're sorry. We blew it. You made it possible for us to live free and we blew it. We've given up nearly every personal liberty in the name of a false sense of security sold to the masses by the same type of maniacal government about which you warned us and against which you fought so bravely. We now have to ask permission to take a leak on an airline flight. We never deserved you." – Phil Murphy 7/4/02