Only the Dead Have Total Liberty

A couple of weeks ago, Senator Rand Paul said it was appalling for President Obama to use the families of those who died in the Sandy Hook massacre  as props. I would like someone to explain how Ron Paul criticizing the decision to shut down Boston is  not using the  Boston Marathon bombing to support his misguided view of liberty. In both cases the people willing participated.

Ron Paul is known to use hyperbole  in trying to make his case. It was reported that a few people were out on the streets of Boston during the manhunt, but they were not harassed, arrested or told to get back inside. I was surprised that a large city was in lock down, but I also saw the residents of Watertown applauding the efforts of the first responders after the ordeal ended.No question that it looked like a military operation but it worked.

I believe Victoria was locked down during Hurricane Rita, and we were given a few hours to evacuate or hunker down because we were not going to be allowed to roam the streets. That decision was made to protect the citizens from looting, being an unnecessary burden for the first responders and common sense. I remember when I worked for the Texas Highway Department and had to barricade off impassable roads during a flood. We were told that we could only advise but not prevent people from driving past our barricades. I remember one night when three different motorist walked back to where we stationed asking us to call a tow truck because their vehicle was stuck in the flood waters. In all three cases, the tow truck operators said they would  come after the flood waters receded. The first responders and tow truck operators were also exercising their liberty to live another day.

Ron Paul thinks that turning a police investigation into a military-style occupation of an American city should frighten us as much as the attack itself but that  is ludicrous. It was a manhunt and at that time, no one knew if the bombers were acting alone or if more bombs were ready to be set off. Mr. Paul complained of the door-to-door armed searches without a warrant but wouldn't it be easy for a judge to sign a blanket warrant for the 20-street perimeter? Ron Paul has 1791 mindset and criminals and terrorists of today will exploit that if we don't grow with the times. The expectation of privacy ends at your front door. For example, we know that there are 2,397 cameras in Manhattan, but more are coming to help their 1,000 man terrorist task force.

Ron Paul said ." Government's job "is to protect our liberties, not to keep Americans safe." I don't believe I stand alone in disagreeing with that statement. We do have a national defense which has a duty to protect our Constitution and the people of the United States. Mr. Paul has a right to believe what he wants but he and other Libertarians are protected under the same umbrella of our national defense and police force.