Memorial Day: Today Americans pause to honor the dead of our past wars. From that fateful person in Concord to the young soldier, over 200 years later, who will die today, we salute them all. Although as a nation we have been often at war, today, May 29th, 2006, is unique. It is unique because we find ourselves in an extraordinary position. We face a challenge no less than the very salvation of our country.

Fear is a powerful weapon. Hermann Göering, Nazi war criminal, said the following:

“Naturally the common people don’t want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”

And it is strange that in these days we should look to the Nazis for guidance. Göering’s message is simple, fear = control. Since September 11th, 2001, America has been in a permanent state of fear. This fear has opened the door to certain individuals and groups who prey on fear. Hitler’s Third Reich was such an institution, as were countless others across both time and place. The current individuals, however, who seek to exploit America’s fears are far more sophisticated. The Nazis failed, and, as we like to say, from failure comes lessons. For most of us, I dare say, that regime’s appalling crimes against humanity highlighted our frailty and ability to be mislead though with the noblest of intentions. For others, it is a study in control. Yes, our current enemy is far removed from brown shirts and crisp salutes, but its fundamental principle remains unchanged.

By taking advantage of our very real and justifiable fears following 9/11, our current administration has allowed massive changes to occur within the parameters of acceptable behavior which have been heretofore unthinkable. The two major issues are: 1) a nearly complete disregard for civil liberties and the separation of powers, and 2) an aggressive and offensive global military policy. Our fear has been exploited and we have been asked to rationalize blatantly unconstitutional activities. Domestic spying and data mining are just two of the more incendiary incarnations of this policy. Everywhere we turn, we find ourselves more and more in a “papers, please,” society. Furthermore, to cover the outrage that should and indeed does widely exist surrounding these measures, we have been lead into the ultimate distraction, WAR.

Iraq is a disaster of the greatest magnitude and there is no sugarcoating it. We have proven that although the US Military is capable of inflicting tremendous physical damage on our enemies, it is incapable of winning their hearts and minds. But really, who wins hearts and minds with unmanned aerial drones piloted from half a world away? The dog shit was on the floor. Radical ideologies, mostly coming from the Muslim world, did indeed pose a threat to global security. But we were blinded by our own radical ideology, or at least that of the individuals who have been able to gain control and set the agenda for these past years. Although the threat was real, we reacted by fighting extremism with extremism. Those who claim to be protecting us do little but expose us to greater harm by inflaming potential allies and creating new extremists.

And alas, we who clued into this game, sooner or later, have received the Göering treatment. My greatest fear is that in this new un-reality which has been engineered, security becomes paramount to any other objective. And although security is indeed a valid concern, when it is the only goal, when it is addressed in isolation from other concerns, it becomes a mania. Security from outsiders has long been a staple of the human experience. Only now we seek security from an idea, a feeling. To seek security from terror is akin to fighting sadness. The new takeover has been masterfully engineered and enacted in small bits. The design is for perpetual fear, perpetual war and therefore perpetual control.

Thus enmeshed, on this day of remembrance, we must re-double our efforts to seek and speak the truth. Truth hurts. Truth forces us to confront our weaknesses. Truth demands that we change our ways. But without truth, we can expect no more than the deceptions to which we have long been prey. Although tremendous opportunity has been squandered, there still exists a change to right things. And that, my friends, is where they have failed. If absolute fear = absolute control, we have not yet reached such a level. Every time you speak up, you vote your conscience and you work for a better future, you resist the easy trap which is false security.

So, on this day, we must resolve to stop adding new graves to our national war cemeteries. Let us honor those who have fought, both nobly and misguidedly; let us resolve to stop encouraging the latter and resort only to the former as a last resort. This great battle we must rage does not require the services of Raytheon or Boing, rather those of ordinary individuals like you and me. This is our charge; let us not surrender, let us fight.