I think freedom doesn't really exist in any current country since all governments have mechanisms in place to exert an excessive mount of force on any citizen. This in principle prevents any freedom since the freedom only goes as far as the government allows it by interpretation: there are no strict boundaries in freedom, they are arbitrary at the moment.
Freedom isn't free, it costs people like you and me.
I think both freedom and security are a concept and based on perception and perspective. Neither truly exist and are fully obtainable. You must eat, and you cannot escape or become free of the necessity to eat. You never have complete security. People who believe they are completely secure are delusional. A meteor may strike the earth. You may be hit by a bus. Another country may launch a nuke at you. A natural disaster such as a earth quake or eruption of some kind may occur. The natural gas in the building you are inhabiting may cause the building to explode with you in it. When it comes to computer security it is the same. The nature and basics of computers means security will never be truly obtainable. Computer security is in essence a cat and mouse game of being on the cutting edge and being the first to realize and/or patch a security hole.
Is freedom not on a sliding scale then?
Yes it is a sliding scale. It is a balance between freedom and security. With society everyone should have an equal balance between security and freedom, unfortunately that is not how it goes. No one should be above the law, in theory, but in reality that is not how it happens.
