Is America really land of the free and home of the brave or are we turning into a police state?

I’ve noticed more and more freedoms are curtailed as we react to terrorism, crime and illegal immigration. It seems to me that the majority of the population prefers the end over the means; in other words they are willing to turn America into a police state in order to insure their own comfort and safety. Is their a way to protect our freedom and our culture from assaults from abroad and within without resorting to acts that would ultimately erode our personal freedom?

Arizona is sure a police state now. First photo radar, then Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and now SB1070.