Contact Center Solutions Industry News

[July 23, 2006]

Poll finds Oklahomans back security measures: A majority of respondents say they would surrender some freedoms for greater security.

(Tulsa World (OK) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Jul. 23--In general, Oklahomans seem willing to give up a little freedom in exchange for security, the latest Oklahoma Poll shows.

The poll asked 1,060 likely voters statewide "How willing are you to surrender certain freedoms in exchange for greater security?"

Some 67.2 percent answered "very" or "somewhat" willing. Only about 13 percent said not at all. In 2002, another Oklahoma Poll asked 738 Oklahomans the same question. The results haven't changed over four years.

"The general response is that, yes, Oklahomans are willing to give up some freedom or privacy for security," said poll consultant Al Soltow, vice president for research at the University of Tulsa.

"But, as you begin to ask specific questions, the picture begins to change."

When the most recent poll was conducted, respondents were also asked a series of questions about specific measures taken by the federal government under the banner of the war on terror.

Fifty-eight percent said they were OK with the government looking at their phone records. Forty-two percent said the government could peak at their financial records.

But only about 6 percent said they would not object to restrictions on their access to an attorney.

"Everybody jokes about attorneys, but when it comes to giving up their right to one, that's a different story," Soltow said.

Drawing the fine line between prudent surveillance and unnecessary intrusion is difficult, for citizen and government agencies alike.

"A lot of people in our own country are our enemies," said poll participant Roy Manns of Tulsa. "Do you wait until they try to bomb something before you go after them? Do you listen in on phone messages? Check bank accounts?

"Just as nobody likes war, nobody likes the idea of the government checking their phone or bank records."

Manns said he thinks the Bush Administration's surveillance programs are reasonable but recognizes they may lead to problems.

"I fully expect sometime in the future there will be a president who abuses that," he said.

And what constitutes an abuse?

"I think they ought to have access to terrorists, but figuring out which ones -- are they going to check everybody?" said Charles Denton of Kansas, Okla.

"I don't particularly want them searching through my stuff but I guess if I came down to it, I'd say 'Yeah, go ahead.' But I don't think they should be able to just use a shotgun approach to it."

Manns, who believes conservative Christians are sometimes the target of mockery, said, "I suppose abuse would be . . . the abridging of civil rights in the Bill of Rights. Where do you draw the line? When the government tries to arrest people based not on whether they're trying to attack the country but on the basis of religious beliefs."

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