A plea to the people of Great Britain

Winston Churchill is rolling in his grave. I know this. He has to be. It was Churchill who said, "We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire. Neither the sudden shock of battle nor the long-drawn trials of vigilance and exertion will wear us down."

It appears the British people, however, are weakened . . . they are tired . . . trials of vigilance and exertion have worn them down. Almost three-quarters of the population have decided they would rather give up their civil liberties in exchange for security against terrorism.

I'm sorry, but that is a horrible example to set for the rest of the world. We have an American philosopher of our own who, if you cut his hair and removed his bifocals, would look an awful lot like Churchill. His name was Benjamin Franklin. Ben said, "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

I agree with Ben. In the face of adversity, it is to our advantage to hold on to every freedom we have. I we . . . or the British . . . give up our freedoms to feel safer, we have given a victory to the terrorists. This is something the British or the authors of the so-called Patriot Act fail to understand. Democracy is about "We the People" not "Shield the People".

We need to follow the advice of our forefathers and the Brits need to listen closely to what Churchill was saying. When you give up, you falter, when you give up your liberties, you falter. When you give in to fear, your will is weakened. The sudden shock of the London transit attacks should make you stick your chest out and show the enemy their efforts have not worn you down.

I am fed up with the way everyone is letting the few true terrorists there are in the world control the way we live. Let's live for today.

Remember these words:

" . . . that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

Can any of us truly pursue happiness or have a life without liberty?

To our British friends, don't give up your liberties. I'll let Mr. Churchill give you one last piece of advice:

"Never give in -- never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."