Maher Arar's case stands as a sad example of how we have been too willing to sacrifice our core principles to overarching government power in the name of security, when doing so only undermines the principles we stand for and makes us less safe.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the danger of compromising fundamental values for the sake of security.
Patrick Leahy's quote reflects on Maher Arar's case, illustrating the tragic consequences of allowing government power to override core principles in the name of security. It argues that such sacrifices diminish the very values that define a free society and ultimately lead to greater insecurity rather than safety.
In practice
In a speech about civil liberties, one might reference this quote to emphasize the need to uphold core values.
It is common sense that in our immigration courts, where children fleeing devastating violence abroad often find themselves, kids need lawyers to advocate on their behalf. After all, lawyers go to school for years to understand the nuances of our legal system.
Wild honey smells of freedom The dust - of sunlight The mouth of a young girl, like a violet But gold - smells of nothing.
Our memory fragments don't have any coherence until they're imagined in words. Time is a property of language, of syntax, and tense.
Not everybody believes in ghosts, but I do. Do you know what they are, Trisha? She had shaken her head slowly. Men and women who can't get over their past . . . That's what ghosts are.
The man who fights for his fellow-man is a better man than the one who fights for himself.
Euthanasia is a grave violation of the law of God, since it is the deliberate and morally unacceptable killing of a human person.
You may fetter my leg, but Zeus himself cannot get the better of my free will.
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