IP: Strongly recommend reading -- Democracy held hostage

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

> From: "Robert J. Berger" <rberger@ultradevices.com>
> To: Dave Farber <farber@cis.upenn.edu>,
> Subject: Salon.com News | Democracy held hostage
>
> http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2001/09/29/democracy/index.html
>
> Democracy held hostage
>
> We are fighting for freedom -- including the right to vigorously
> debate. But the war fever crowd wants us all to march in step.
>
> - - - - - - - - - - - -
> By David Talbot
>
> Sept. 29, 2001 | Truth is not the only early casualty of war. So is
> rational thought. War breeds hysteria and a rush to conformity. The
> herd, under attack, instinctively groups together and seeks assurance
> that everyone is trustworthy and loyal, everyone is primed for
> defense.
>
> That's what we're experiencing in our country in the weeks after the
> Sept. 11 terror attacks -- assaults so seemingly out of the blue,
> dramatically violent and diabolically orchestrated that they shook the
> nation's confidence to its core. Within hours after the terror
> offensive, before the shock had begun to fade, the country's political
> leaders and media elite rushed to assure us that the country was
> united and resolute. This was certainly true when it came to giving
> aid and comfort to the victims of the attacks. These were days of
> unprecedented national heroism and generosity. But as the weeks go by,
> it becomes increasingly clear that when it comes to the more vexing
> questions of why we were attacked and how we should respond, there is
> no national consensus yet -- nor even a clear consensus within the
> Bush administration.

<snip>



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