Recently the French president has been attempting to pass a law prohibiting Muslim females from wearing their face coverings because of the safety of the people. On the same note, he has executed plans to rid the country of its gypsies. Both of these things have been justified by him as a necessary action for the security of the people- of course not meaning the people, but his people.
I have been asked in French class to discuss my opinions on the subject and I have concluded that security is just an excuse that the government uses to take more rights from the individual, and that only tyranny comes from complete security. This one might trace back to the middle ages and before, when the governmental contract was based on the idea that the king protected his subjects, and in return they gave him all he desired. Governmental policy that restricts rights based on security is to me a distinct step backwards, and in fact security is just an excuse to grasp more power. When the government fails to fulfill its purpose, that is to protect the rights of the people, meaning in France liberty, equality, and fraternity, as it does when it protects the security of certain people, the government no longer deserves to be the government and should in fact be overthrown.
Of course when times are tolerable no one stands for principle, only comfort. It's when things become uncomfortable that real change occurs.
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