It would be really nice if people were to see this as what it is. But they will immediately remember that their politicians du-jour have promised that their security will be ensured if they surrender essential freedoms. They just believe it will be others that do the surrendering - not them.

Most have said “Sure, go ahead. I’ve got nothing to hide. But fuck the guys around me so I can make the money they were making, because my wallet is empty and I need less competition.”

That’s essentially what the officials are promising. Building that wall isn’t going to stop drugs. Its to stop Mexicans from gaining entry (mostly legal entry) because Americans somehow see those people as competition for their earning capacity. And in order to achieve that, they are willing to surrender essential liberty. And terrorism is simply an excuse. If they get their way, then every minority group will be singled out and isolated. And eventually removed. What will happen then? People will be separated into further and further minorities until the nation can be properly segregated into stratified layers.

This isn’t some fear-mongering. This has happened at various scales in many countries. The usual response is civil war. That’s when freedoms are taken back in blood. Or the oppressed die trying. Its easy to forget why the United States was forged. To throw away freedoms in times of fear or economic pressure for anyone who will promise some modicum of stability and security. But to do so is universally a “bad idea”. The greatest strength of the modern world is our diversity contributing to a common whole. It is, for the most part, the core of the internet. People from all over coming together in common hope and effort to achieve something they could never achieve alone. That used to be the essence of the United States. Good luck finding it.