My identity isn&#x27;t particularly relevant to these foundational principles. I could be a committed nihilist or an anti-liberal ideologue and still explain how draconian ethnic surveillance violates the principles of an open liberal society.<p>Whether an open liberal society is ultimately good or worth maintaining is something I don&#x27;t bring into the debate at this point. Since it is essential to the core values of the French republic, disputing it seems pretty futile.<p>If &quot;democratic&quot; has any real meaning, a democratic state can <i>not</i> take <i>any</i> stance on the subject: it can&#x27;t take an <i>anti-democratic</i> stance, because that would be a contradiction in terms. Of course democracy is endangered by terrorism in exactly the way that people point out constantly: it undermines the basic security and &quot;social fabric&quot; that allows for democracy.