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NYT Opinion: Government Surveillance Keeps Us Safe (www.nytimes.com)

submitted 7 months ago by cypherpunks@lemmy.ml to c/nottheonion@lemmy.world

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[–] jaspersgroove@lemm.ee 21 points 7 months ago (1 children)

What’s the old saying, Ben Franklin said it if I remember right?

Those who would give up freedom in exchange for security deserve neither and will lose both.

[–] cypherpunks@lemmy.ml 14 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

What’s the old saying, Ben Franklin said it if I remember right?

Those who would give up freedom in exchange for security deserve neither and will lose both.

The original phrasing was "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." but Franklin didn't mean what most people quoting it today assume that he meant. (The author of that article is contemptible imo, being the sort of person who often writes things similar to the NYT Opinion piece which this thread is about, but I think his analysis of this particular quote is probably correct. You can read Franklin's original use of the phrase in context here.)