The terrorists are gaining some of their vaunted ends. Due to the tragedy in Oklahoma City:
– The FBI (which already has too much freedom to disregard civil rights) would be given still more power.
– Warrantless searches and seizures would become even more commonplace than they are now.
– Carrying concealed weapons to “protect” oneself would become an even greater threat on our streets.
– The pressure for more police, more prisons, as a “solution” to the crime problem would become even greater than it is now.
– Emphasis on the death penalty as a deterrent would become even greater than it is now, though there is no proof that it really is a deterrent.
– “Big Brother-ism” would grow beyond its already frightening proportions.
Stressing these methods to combat terrorism is just what the terrorists want. Let civil liberties be abrogated, let suspicion of one another grow, let harsher and harsher talk flow from our radios and TVs–all of this sets up a society antithetical to democracy and lays the groundwork for the crazies to foment their kind of idiocy.
The terrorists are winning.
