In the house where I grew up, it was our custom to leave the front

door on the latch at night. No one carried keys.

Today doors do not stay unlocked, thus for part of an evening. The 【M1】_________

era of leaving the front door open has gone forever. It has been replaced

of by locks, security chains, electronic alarm systems and tripwires 【M2】_________

hooked up to a police station or private guard firm. Many suburban

families even have sliding glass doors on their patios, with steel bars

elegantly building in so no one can pry the doors open. 【M3】_________

A recent public-service advertisement by an insurance company

featured not actuarial charts or a picture of a child’s bicycle with a 【M4】_________

padlock attached to it.

It is the insurance companies which pay for stolen goods, but who is 【M5】_________

going to pay for that the new atmosphere of distrust and fear is doing to 【M6】_________

our way of life? Who is going to make the psychological payment for the 【M7】_________

transformation of America from the Land of the Free to the Land of the

Lock?

For some reason we are satisfied when we think we are well-

protected; it does not occur us to ask ourselves: Why are we having to 【M8】_________

barricade ourselves for our neighbors and fellow citizens, and when, 【M9】_________

exactly, did this start to take over our lives?

Even a decade ago, most private businesses had a policy of free

access. Thus, today you have to carry some kind of access card to enter 【M10】________

your place of work. Maybe the security guard at the front desk knows

your face and will wave you in most days, but the fact remains that the

business you work for feels threatened enough to keep outsiders away via

these “keys”.

【M10】