I am the sort of person who sleeps very well. I am a laid-back, relaxed, happy person prone to rare bouts of over-active imagination and righteous indignation. Yet lately, I've been having extremely vivid and rather terrifying dreams, brought upon by an emailed memo from my company's lawyers. I cannot reproduce it here, as it has a disclaimer which I must respect, stating "be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of this information is prohibited." However, the synopsis is as follows: Males 17 and older who are citzens of or dual nationals from eighteen different countries ranging from Afganistan to Yemen, are required to report to the Immigration and Naturalization Service if they were admitted to the US prior to Sept 10, 2002.

Scary stuff. History repeats itself because human nature does not change. America is caught in the grip of a nationalistic fervor and it frightens me. What happened to reason? What happened to freedom? What happened to judging a man according to his actions, not his skin colour, religion or origin? This country was founded on principles that extremists are willing to set aside in order to 'save the country' and punish those we believe have wronged us. What a horrifying proposition. If the goverment of the United States uses uses tactics that violate the civil liberites of its residents, regardless of citizenship, and if it authorizes the use of pre-emptive violence against other nations of the world, where is our moral and ethical high-ground? What happens to the abandoned principles then? What do Americans become then? Can we just put down and pick up at will the mantle which the founding fathers presented this country? Our consitution, and the rights and responsibilities outlined therein, is a burden and a gift, and the price of this gift is vigilance. To paraphrase Neitsche: Those who would fight monsters must beware that in the process of fighting the monsters they do not become monsters themselves.

When I voice these concerns I am told that I should be careful, that I might end up on some 'commie-pinko-islamic-agitator' list in Washington. I think I feel rather like many Germans and Japanese did in the 1930's, alarmed by the extreme nationalism espoused by so many, but afraid to speak out lest they be labelled unpatriotic or treasonous. I am a citizen of the United States, and I will not hide stop thinking and pretend that others know what is best, not only for me and my country, but for the World. Who appointed us Big Brother? We have power, but we must be judicious in the use of that power. We must practice vigilance over those who exercise the power invested in them by us. What is done in the name of the United States of America is done in my name. I am shamed. I am enraged. I am terrified.