Quote from: ilikebread on September 29, 2012, 07:11 pmMy thoughts and favorite quotations from part I, section 1.Rockwell (2008), citing Fukuyama, "It was only the government, and not the market or individuals, that could be depended on to send firemen into buildings, or to fight terrorists, or to screen passengers at airports. (p. 16) "Clearly, they said, it was excessive liberty that had led to this disaster." (Rockwell, 2008, p. 18) "It turned flying into a massive police operation." (p. 24) [Please assume that all following citations are Rockwell, 2008 unless otherwise specified]I groaned to think that anyone could claim the TSA is a better alternative to the private screeners that airports employed prior to 9/11. I worry that even if the TSA were disbanded today, the culture of compliance that they have instilled into air travel would persist. "But that moment [of government dependency/anti-libertarianism] is coming to an end, or already hasBush is not likely to get his new suspensions of civil liberties passed. The neocons are fearful that they no longer hold enough political capital to start more wars. The public is fed up with the mess in Iraq. The much-vaunted advent of the American global empire is under fire. The propaganda no longer seems to be working." (p. 24)This sounds incredibly optimistic to me. I realize this book is 4 years old, but I think society has been taking us in the exact opposite direction. Obama may not be waging a traditional war, but citizens in Libya and Pakistan would probably feel like they are extremely under fire from the American global empire. The PATRIOT Act was extended, and few seem to mind that the DEA has seized 7 billion dollars (86 percent of total seizures) without judicial oversight through civil forfeiture or administrative forfeiture. (USDOJ, 2012, http://www.justice.gov/oig/reports/2012/a1240.pdf)I thought the same thing when I read that part. He thought that the government wouldn't be brave enough to stomp on our civil liberties any more and here we are today praying the NDAA is ruled unconstitutional so we can't be legally kidnapped in the night with hoods over our heads and held indefinitely with no charge. It seems to be getting a lot scarier and not any more free. And in all honesty it seems at this point that things will only get worse before they get better. But then again, the fact that we are here and that SR exists is a sign of hope. One that I cling to for the sake of staying optimistic. :)