Chilling Implications

I turned on the television Friday morning to news of the failed terror attack in the UK. While the MSNBC report cycled through a video loop of images from the scene, and as Joe Scarborough and his team provided as much as was known at the time and the few updates that were available, one thing struck me.

The news reports made much of the fact that the London is, perhaps, the most CCTV/surveillance camera-saturated city in the world, and that the lack of an explosion meant there would be forensic evidence to be checked against Scotland Yard's extensive DNA library, and that both factors would likely contribute to quick arrests in the case.

Good news for investigators in the United Kingdom, but chilling implications for those of us here in the United States.

I know this event will influence the ongoing liberty/security debate here in America. As a nation we're already paranoid about some future act of terror, and we're constantly being told that we need to fear this shadowy enemy called terrorism. If the events of this past weekend result in a stronger push for and greater acceptance of remote security camera networks, and an undermining of opposition to extensive DNA cataloging, it will not be welcome news.

Using fear as a means of achieving legislative change is poor public policy. Loss of liberty should never be tolerated by patriots.