Safety versus Individual Rights

I understand that the police want people to feel safer, so therefore are initiating searches of people's bags on the subway. But it still makes me feel uneasy.

Look, I'm not carrying anything that anyone would take away or get me into trouble. Still, there's a few things that concern me with the searches.

1) I don't really expect them to last that long. I get the sense that once the London bombings fade from memory, these searches will be viewed as more of an inconvenience and an annoyance. Think of how people view increased airport and stadium security these days.

2) That the searches aren't that effective and are more for show. This really worries me. Maybe it's just something for peace of mind but not won't actually to do anything. The Police Commissioner said they would search fewer people if the subway was busier. Shouldn't they be searching more people when the subway is busier? After all, isn't that when these guys are most likely to attack?

3) This is the most paranoid concern: what's to say if an apartment blew up that the police wouldn't start randomly searching apartments? We're definitely looking at a conflict of search and seizure versus individual rights. Granted, the MTA can set rules and you don't have to use the subway or any other public transportation. Also, it will be more than 99.999% of people who are compliant with these regulations. But still, what happens if a guy gets caught with something and then the charge gets thrown out in court because of illegal search / seizure? Obviously, you can't legislate to what "might happen in court to get the charge thrown out." But when I hear politicians (Bloomberg) say things like, "We know that our freedoms are threatening to certain individuals and there's no reason to let our guard down." I have to think, "If you keep rummaging through my stuff, then soon there won't be that many freedoms for those people to worry about."

But still, I don't want the terrorists to win. I'll stay vigilant.