Frightened people willingly forfeit privacy and neglect moral concerns under stark binary framing.

Evidence

Although he had been militarily contained and had no ties to al Qaeda, the U.S. administration portrayed him as a grave threat. Advocates of military intervention argued that, in defiance of UN restrictions, he not only had obstructed arms inspections but also was producing chemical and biological weapons that he might pass on to organized or freelancing terrorists. Moreover, his efforts to create nuclear weapons posed an even graver international threat. … In the bleak contrast of dichotomous options frightened people are willing to forfeit privacy for safety. They also give low priority to moral considerations and potential international repercussions. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2353

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the ‘security vs liberty’ tradeoff literature and how moral disengagement operates under threat framing.