Here in America we're a proud people.  Proud of who we are, proud of our history, of our freedom, our military superiority, our technology, and among many other things, our democracy.  We like to boast to the world what a great nation we have made for ourselves. We wave our Constitution before the world like we wave our flag at the Olympic Games.   And we boast our secure belief that our Constitution protects us from our government and assures that we'll never be subject to the rule of dictators, despotism, fascism or any other form of tyrannical control.  I have to question, however, just how secure we actually are.  I'm not convinced that tyranny couldn't happen here.

I don't believe, for example, that a democratic people are exempt from tyranny or that a constitution such as ours is absolute protection from fascist rule.  I believe that an apathetic, uninformed and poorly educated people can find themselves under tyrannical control regardless of their political beliefs or any guarantees provided by a constitution.  Particularly in times of war.  It is quite possible, in my opinion, that the kinds of fear and uncertainty which exist in wartime can facilitate evil rulers in taking control.  Perhaps that is (in part) what FDR was suggesting when he told us "we have nothing to fear but fear itself".  

With the exception of a military coup, a dictator doesn't  just come in and take control. It usually happens over a series of small, calculated steps over a considerable period of time.  That's why a free and democratic people such as we, even with what many people perceive as a a good guy in the Whitehouse, must be wary and forever watchful of what is happening in government.  And it is the reason why some Americans, myself included, are nervous about enactments such as the Patriot Act.  I even worry about saying that I'm nervous for fear of being branded as unpatriotic and 'un-American', which raises another concern.  Polarization.  To this potential threat to our security, I suggest we remember something a very wise man said some two thousand years ago:  "A house divided against itself cannot stand".