Lots of folks defending the war (I'm talking about the Iraq War, but really, this applies to any war) say something along the lines of "freedom isn't free." And they're right. But when we say that, we need to recognize that we're talking about a lot more than the sacrifices of our armed forces.

Since 9/11, regular citizens have not been asked to sacrifice economically for that amorphous thing known as the "war on terror." In fact, we got a tax cut. But we have been paying a much greater cost: pieces of our civil rights.

Most folks think of the first amendment as "freedom of the press." That's in there, of course, but there's more. There's also the freedom to worship as you please and the freedom to assemble. Over the years, the Supreme Court has abridged these absolute freedoms (as Oliver Wendell Holmes put it, you don't have the right to shout "fire" in a theater and run out), but not by much. Over the last five years, the freedom of the press and, by an infinitely larger amount, the freedom to assemble have been cut down by the Prez and his gang.

Theoretically, al Qaeda could send people to the good ol' U S of A for a recruiting trip. It used to be that I could wander down and listen to some al Qaeda dingbat rant and rave, and we could all go home without any threat of legal harassment (at least, as long as there was no mention of overthrowing the U.S. government or anything like that). Of course, our government has been laying a heavy hand on those it deems subversive since (at least) the 19th century, when it hammered union organizing efforts. More than a fifth of the "protesters" at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago were actually undercover government agents (FBI, state and local police and other types). But even those vile historical attacks on our rights pale in comparison to what has been going on the last six years.

Since 9/11, it's gotten harder to fly, harder to ride the train and much harder to get in and out of the country--legally, anyway. The FBI has been snooping around thousands of libraries, checking out what you and I have been reading. The NSA has been watching who calls whom. I don't know of any cases made from these bizarre fishing expeditions, but these techniques smack of restricting the freedom to assemble.

These recent restrictions (and many more I haven't listed) haven't made us more safe from the "other.". Last week's massacre at Virginia Tech was just the latest outrage perpetrated on Americans by Americans (and don't give me any of that "alien" nonsense; the kid came to America when he was eight. He's an American). And I'm not just talking about Oklahoma City, either. Every year, between 15,000 and 20,000 Americans are killed by other Americans. That's five to seven 9/11s every year, if you're keeping track.

But murder isn't the biggest "unnatural" killer of Americans. More than twice as many people are killed in traffic accidents every year. And drunk driving accidents account for less than 40 percent of the deaths. In other words, sober, "non-criminal" Americans are killing more people with their cars than with criminals with guns (or knives or arsenic or whatever). There are ways of making the streets safer (allowing fewer cars to be sold, putting a lot more cops into traffic enforcement, etc.), but I don't think politicians are willing to wade into that morass.

The world is, fundamentally, an unsafe place. If it were safe, natural selection wouldn't work. Our ancestors understood this. That's why your great-great-grandpa had five sisters and eight brothers--four of whom died as children. I'm not suggesting we go back to such hyperfertile times, but I think you see my point.

There has been a lot of talk about how we can make colleges and universities safer. Metal detectors at the entrances to every building, stricter control of "troubled" students, etc. I don't know about you, but for me the whole point of college (and education in general) is the freedom to go where you want to go, talk to whomever you want to talk and figure things out for yourself. Is it really a good idea to build in an extra ten minutes between classes so everyone can pass through the metal detectors? Should every student be forced to carry a card which gives them access only to the buildings for which they have been approved? For me, that price is too high. Freedom is more valuable than a modicum of perceived safety.

America is a great nation because it is made up of strivers (and their descendants), immigrants who came to these shores to make a better life for themselves. I include those who came involuntarily (slaves and other prisoners), because most people in this country, no matter their background, still subscribe to the notion that anything is possible here. Even if Horatio Alger's tales really can't come true, acting as if they could has allowed the people of our nation to accomplish much more than people in other societies. We have had the freedom to look around, to think new thoughts and to try new ideas. We've also had more violent upheaval than most nations. From the Whiskey Rebellion to the Haymarket Riot to the assassination of three presidents (and shooting of another), there have always been Americans who want to live, shall we say, a little too free.

In many ways, America is an ongoing experiment in how to balance these impulses, to give as much freedom to as many people as possible. The world changes, the rules change and yet one thing remains true: A free society is still worth dying for.

Freedom isn't free. It never has been. But we should always remember what Ben Franklin said: "The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either."

Jon Worley likes this cartoon from the Star-Tribune last week:

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