We have had some terrorist attacks in the EU recently and the discussion is again: safety versus democracy and personal freedom. How far do you go to keep people safe? What measures actually help? Can you ever truly prevent such attacks?

As for me, I do not believe in going too far with snooping and restrictions, in fact, no further than we are now, and if possible, back track many of the terrorist laws with destroy democracy.

But people seem to think otherwise in the USA??
Civil Liberties vs. Security: Public Opinion in
the Context of the Terrorist Attacks on America
Darren W. Davis
Michigan State University
Brian D. Silver
Michigan State University
In the tradition of research on political tolerance and democratic rights in context, this study uses a national survey of
Americans conducted shortly after the September 11, 2001 attack on America to investigate people’s willingness to trade
off civil liberties for greater personal safety and security. We find that the greater people’s sense of threat, the lower their
support for civil liberties. This effect interacts, however, with trust in government. The lower people’s trust in government,
the less willing they are to trade off civil liberties for security, regardless of their level of threat.

https://www.msu.edu/~bsilver/AJPSCivLib.pdf


Mind you ,that was just after 11. September. What do people think now?

Spiegel online:
A Time for Nuance and Calm

Particularly in times of chaos and uncertainty, it is more important than ever to view and analyze events in a nuanced manner and to remain calm despite feelings of dismay that are, of course, understandable.

Yes, the terrible images coming out of Paris have shocked us, in no small part because they are pictures that are not typically part of our free society. For us as Europeans, it is self-evident that streets, stadiums, restaurants and concert halls are safe places. This fundamental trust is the foundation of our public life. In Paris, this foundation has been shaken. It is only natural that people begin doubting the efficacy of our security.

And therein lies the long-term danger. If we allow ourselves to limit the scope of our public life, then the terrorists will not only have achieved their short-term goal of murdering and spreading chaos, but also their long-term goal to damaging the foundations of our public life. We cannot allow this to happen.

Paris Terrorist Attacks and the Need to Protect Our Freedom - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Then there is this for-and-against article:
Terrorism: The challenge Brussels poses to democracies (Opinion) - CNN.com

What do you people think of this?