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Gallup Poll: Satisfaction With Their Freedoms Has Record Drop Among Americans

220px-Scene_at_the_Signing_of_the_Constitution_of_the_United_StatesWe have long discussed the erosion of civil liberties in the United States, including the attacks on privacy and other rights by the Obama Administration. It appears that we are not alone in those concerns. A new Gallup poll shows a record drop in the satisfaction of Americans over their freedoms. The massive drop is matched in such countries as Egypt, Pakistan, and Venezuela.

Seventy-nine percent of US residents are satisfied with their level of freedom. That is down from 91 percent in 2006 — a 12 point drop. We were once the highest country in the world on such polls. We have now dropped to 36th place.

That mirrors other studies showing the United States dropping to the same low levels on press freedoms, Internet speech, and other rights.

The White House has been adept in deflecting such criticism with a host of commentators and bloggers who deflect criticism with references to Republicans and the “red menace” or “things could be worse” spin or simply change the subject. However, the expansion of the internal security network in the United States and police powers is obviously having an impact on how Americans now view their rights. Years ago, I wrote a column entitled “10 Reasons Why The United States Is No Longer The Land of The Free.” Things have only grown worse since that column ran. The Obama Administration’s recent effort to strip citizens of privacy protections over their cellphones and records illustrates the extremism of some of these positions. That argument failed to secure a single vote on the Supreme Court for the Administration’s effort to blow a hole in American privacy protections.

The poll on the eve of the Fourth of July captures the dire condition of American civil liberties today. As I wrote years ago, Obama has been a disaster for the American civil liberties movement and the damage done under his tenure will be felt for decades. What is most distressing is that citizens see the decline but feel virtually powerless to do anything about it due to the duopoly of power in this country. Even with universal calls for change, the two parties are again recycling many of the same figures and same policies as prior years. Polls of this kind show a deep sense of dissatisfaction among Americans but also a complete lack of expression of those views through political channels. That is a dangerous situation for any political system when such widespread feelings are left unexpressed and unvented in politics. The political system seems to be operating in an increasingly unconnected and unresponsive fashion vis-a-vis the public at large. There is a sense among many that I speak to that there is a ruling elite and a vast body of the ruled — a modern equivalent to the helot class of ancient Sparta.

I am still amazed that we have come to this point of rapidly declining feelings of freedom and widespread dissociation with our political system. It is not the failure of our constitutional system and only partially the failure of our leaders. It is largely a failure in ourselves that we have become such grumbling drones — powerless, passive, and frankly a bit pathetic. Our government is openly trying to strip away core privacy protections and increase police powers at every level. Yet, we have fallen victim to the “blue state” and “red state” mentality — allowing politicians to constantly deflect criticism by referring to the other side as the greater evil. The result is predictable and, as with this poll, incredibly depressing.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2014/0701/Land-of-the-free-Not-so-much.-Americans-sense-of-freedom-drops-poll-finds

277 thoughts on “Gallup Poll: Satisfaction With Their Freedoms Has Record Drop Among Americans”

  1. Max,
    I read about a businessman who always wears a sport kilt and goes regimental. I hear that it creates a lot of red faces at TSA checkpoints. And a kilt is very comfortable attire.

  3. I’ll be traveling this next week and passing through a couple of domestic airports to get too and fro. I can rest assured that I’m not on a “NO FLY LIST” as now they’re unconstitutional and I’ve not been alerted since my plane ticket purchase 3 weeks ago. I will, however, count on refusing the backscatter and insist on a publicly viewed pat down so other travelers can witness blanket suspicion without cause. I’m not dumb… I know if I refuse any clearance procedure, I’m NOT FREE to travel via airplane. So, instead of being like a sheep going to slaughter, er backscatter, I’ll opt for the pat down so the public can witness it. It’s my way of making a public statement TO the public about what their Government thinks of THEM!

    Sure, it takes an extra 20 minutes… But in that 20 minutes, hundreds of people will be thinking, “what has he done?” “wow” “oh, I hope I’m safe” “I’m glad I’m safe” “Like he’s gonna do something?” “Why?” etc. I’ll be happy if it percolates even one person to question their role in this… or their Government’s role in suspicion of American citizens.

    Happy 4th everyone…

  4. When I think of Freedom… I’m reminded that the only person to be serving time behind bars for the Bush Administration’s use and policy of TORTURE is the whistleblower that revealed the operations. Mission Accomplished, Obama.

  5. NSA ‘totalitarian,’ ex-staffer tells German parliament
    A former NSA technical chief has told Germany’s parliament that the US agency has become a “totalitarian” mass collector of data. German public broadcasters say the NSA targets individuals who use encryption services.
    http://www.dw.de/nsa-totalitarian-ex-staffer-tells-german-parliament/a-17757008

    Testifying, Binney accused the NSA of having a “totalitarian mentality” and wanting “total information control” over citizens in breach of the US constitution. It was an approach that until now the public had only seen among dictators, he added.

    Mass collection was “senseless” and did not help in counterterrorism, and actually hindered the agency’s capabilities, Binney said.

    The NSA represented the “greatest threat” to American society since the US Civil War of the 19th century, Binney added.

    Binney left the NSA as its technical chief in 2001 shortly it began mass scanning in the wake of 9/11 hijack attacks by al Qaeda terrorists on New York and Washington.
    (continued w/ video)

  7. @randyjet

    To take things in non-sequential order:

    “You also need to know more about WWII”

    I have read far more about WWII and the Cold War than you ever will. I studied Russian and German in school. I have traveled throughout Europe, from London to Moscow, and not on some cruise ship. I’ve played pool with Russians in dingy Russian bars and always lost. I visited St. Petersburg, Moscow, Volgograd, and other cities. I started at the point most Americans are at, that the U.S. won WWII all by itself. Then I moved to thinking that the USSR won the European portion of WWII almost by itself. I have arrived at a more nuanced view.

    “why it is so important for Finland to join NATO now”

    Is Russia bluffing with its bear-growling about how Finland should be quiet? I discussed this in my latest blog post. I will not re-hash it here.

    “There are lots of countries in Europe who are not part of NATO”

    Not on the Russian border. Belarus and Ukraine do not count.

    “Austria was under Soviet occupation after WWII, and they LEFT”

    That might be the Wikipedia version, but that is not correct. Austria, unlike other Eastern European countries, refused to ever vote to become communist. Then Stalin died and motivations changed, leading to Austria regaining its independence in 1955. There are other minor factors, but that’s it in a nutshell.

    “London Poles were … so stupid as to reject Stalin’s proposed alliance against Nazi Germany”

    Poland beat the Soviets in the Polish-Russian War of 1919-1921 where Stalin was one of the leaders. Stalin never forgot it. Poland was screwed because it is on the other side of Germany. There was nothing the West could do.

    “The pre-war Polish dictatorship thought that being an ally of Hitler was just great”

    Is your name really Erika Steinbach?

  11. rafflaw
    Paul,
    Please provide some evidence of the wild claim that Obama is part of a socialist/communist cabal that was started during the cold war.
    = = =
    I thought it was a Kenyan-Muslim-Sharia Law-Anti 2nd Amendment plot…

    But like the wind, those plots are a changin’
    CRUZ RIPS SENATE DEMS FOR REJECTING TEXT OF FIRST AMENDMENT
    http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-TV/2014/06/18/Cruz-Rips-Senate-Dems-for-Rejecting-Text-of-First-Amendment

    What ever floats the boat… conspiracy theories need no facts, raff.
    You know that.

  12. Good article, SWM! I hope more rich folks are paying attention to the discontent than just that author… Perhaps I am too cynical.

  13. Annie said, “SWM, why don’t we hear more outrage and alarm being expressed about the obscene power the rich have in this nation?”

    The degree of power has been obscured because the media isn’t paying attention to this topic (most are owned by mega corporations) and politicians don’t want us to really be aware of the extent of the problem. Ugh.

    Jim22 said, “Who or what makes the Congress unable to be an equal branch, why or how did the Executive and the Judicial get so powerful? Why or how has the ‘fourth branch’ the bureaucracies, become so powerful?”

    I think Congress lost its status as an equal branch upon the ratification of the 17th Amendment. This amendment changed the way senators were elected. They had been chosen by members of each state legislature prior to the amendment. The amendment now has senators being elected directly by the people of each state. Now it is much more difficult to boot someone from the Hill because enough people in the state have to be paying attention in order for the senator to lose an election (no wonder they stay in power for decades!). If the original method was still in place I could drive over to my state legislator’s office and discuss my concerns with him regarding his vote to choose a federal senator. He might be concerned that I might not vote for him again if he doesn’t then lean on the federal senator. The states lost power because the people at a local level have lost control of the senators.

    I am concerned that the representatives are attempting to represent too many people in their districts, or are getting to gerrymander their districts, which will just make the House reflect partisan politics instead of being more balanced.

    Neither my senators nor my representatives reply to any letters I send with anything more than a bland, stock reply that fails to address anything I’ve written.

    The fourth branch has become powerful because the congress has abdicated its real power for the thrill of being elected over and over and over again and because they gain monetarily.

    Anyway, that’s my theory…

    1. Prairie Rose – there were originally 12 amendments to the Constitution, one of the two that did not pass was direct election of Senators. In the olden, golden days people could literally buy the job of Senator, which is why the Senate has always been the rich man’s club. Some states did use direct election and eventually, after enough corruption scandals, the 17th amendment (which could have been the 11th) was passed.

  16. FYI

    A back channel communications server hosted in Iceland has Email, Video and Voice communications (FREE accounts and Pay Accounts both).

    Best part is it’s all encrypted. Prevents prying eyes and we can have open discussion in discussion groups and not worry about our big brother influence.

    http://www.unseen.is

  17. CHICAGO — At a tumultuous meeting of anti-Vietnam War militants at the Chicago Coliseum in 1969, Bill Ayers helped found the radical Weathermen, launching a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and United States Capitol.

    Twenty-six years later, at a lunchtime meeting about school reform in a Chicago skyscraper, Barack Obama met Mr. Ayers, by then an education professor. Their paths have crossed sporadically since then, at a coffee Mr. Ayers hosted for Mr. Obama’s first run for office, on the schools project and a charitable board, and in casual encounters as Hyde Park neighbors.

    Father (in absentia) – a foreign citizen.
    Pastor (“God damn America!”) – Reverend Wright
    Radical Marxist mentor w/plausible deniability – Bill Ayers

    Oh yeah, Roosevelt didn’t know Alger Hiss was a spy either.

    It’s funny how nations function.

    America has its Preamble and Constitution

    but it’s governed by the Communist Manifesto –

    “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.”

    Now that’s something Bill and Obama can get behind; they appear to agree, no?

    One attempted to fundamentally transform America with high explosive bombs. The other is trying to fundamentally transform America with nationalization, financial and immigration bombs.

    Yep! They agree.

  18. Al Zheimers wrote “What is a VPN or an OpSec?”

    OpSec refers to operational security, habits which protect your identity on the Internet. The simplest parts involve email addresses which have a fake ID and non-trivial passwords. Using a throw-away phone prevents people from tracing you that way. The next step is to mask your IP information by using an VPN (virtual private network) which essentially allows you to start it on your PC, but your Internet traffic appears out of a server in another area or country. It’s often referred to as a tunnel. Almost every website records your IP address; that’s how the ads are targeted to your local area. But a VPN allows you to surf around as if you lived elsewhere. If you are really paranoid, you can use multiple VPNs, making it that much more difficult to trace you (that’s what pros do). The downside of VPNs is a reduction in transaction speed.

    P.S. Computers and security thereof is my business.

    P.P.S. If anyone is really interested, Krebs on Security (krebsonsecurity.com) is a good place to start.

  20. The #1 Paul wrote “Obama is part of the socialist/communist cabal started during the Cold War.”
    Annie wrote “I almost posted Dylan’s John Birch Society Blues. Any more crazy commie talk and I just might be forced to.”

    Please, no Dylan, He has a voice on par with William Hung and Bono. How about something by Joan Jett? Her recent plastic surgery is awesome.

    What the #1 Paul wrote is just crazy. To believe that people in the 1960s (or 1970s or even 1980s) would imagine that a black president was possible boggles the mind. Now if Paul believes that there are tens of thousands of people who were groomed for the presidency just to cover all of the bases, he might almost make sense. But then we would have enough people to fill a football stadium who want to run for president.

    1. saucy – it didn’t have to be Obama, he just happened to be in the right place at the right time with the right people.

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