I recently read that the difference between how democracy in Europe has evolved compared to that of the United States is that in Europe the government is afraid of the people whereas in the United States the people are afraid of the government.

I've no idea how true this is, but I do know that silence in our country today poses a very real threat to our democracy. Waging wars of aggression, violating international laws and treaties, secret prisons, torture, a president declaring himself above the law, illegal wire tapping, denial of habeas corpus, mercenaries on our streets, arresting and "disappearing" citizens - all sound more like fascism than democracy.

Are we, indeed, afraid? Or are we being "good Germans" - willfully blind to the lies, crimes and abuse of power? Might we have brokered a deal with our conscience that allows us to countenance our government launching preemptive wars and hogging the world's resource? Or, lo, as cynics say, are we merely uninformed, mindless consumers moving along in lemming formation toward the cliff?

Possible still, maybe soon we'll have had enough!

Of course, blame shared by Congress and the media cannot be overstated. Congress was craven in its support of the Iraq war. Seventy-seven senators voted for it - including Senators Clinton and Rockefeller who, among others, remained silent even after having access to solid intelligence questioning the WMD claims. The media gave Bush star power and waxed eloquent about the triumph of good over evil. (This in stark contrast to the little coverage given recent studies revealing 935 lies Bush and his aids told to take us to war.)

Five years hence, the fanciful happy talk long waned, we're facing problems at home and abroad few could have imagined.

The president has morphed into a buffoon; our soldiers are trapped in a $3 trillion quagmire; crises are worsening in the Middle East; war profiteering has become a lawless enterprise; working Americans are facing economic disaster as jobs go overseas and wealth trickles up; the national debt is approaching $10 trillion; and our civil liberties and human rights are being steadily stripped away.

Details of this grim picture are woefully lacking in the media. Nearly off the radar are the truth about our brutal occupation of Iraq and the growing instability and humanitarian disasters in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Palestine.

Cities in Iraq are ravaged. The water and the land are contaminated. An estimated one million people have died; 5 million are displaced, and civil order has broken down. Women, who had made up more than half of Iraqi professionals, are now forced from their jobs and are being systematically abducted, raped and murdered. At least two million children lack adequate nutrition - countless numbers are orphaned - and an estimated 90 percent of the people suffer some form of depression.

Meanwhile, the "surge," with 30,000 additional troops on the ground and 100,000 pounds of bombs dropped, has fixed nothing. The truth is, Iraqi militants are being paid off with money and guns while the administration schemes to move in the oil giants and make their robber-baron exploit require permanent occupation.

I recently read that the difference between how democracy in Europe has evolved compared to that of the United States is that in Europe the government is afraid of the people whereas in the United States the people are afraid of the government.

I've no idea how true this is, but I do know that silence in our country today poses a very real threat to our democracy. Waging wars of aggression, violating international laws and treaties, secret prisons, torture, a president declaring himself above the law, illegal wire tapping, denial of habeas corpus, mercenaries on our streets, arresting and "disappearing" citizens - all sound more like fascism than democracy.

Are we, indeed, afraid? Or are we being "good Germans" - willfully blind to the lies, crimes and abuse of power? Might we have brokered a deal with our conscience that allows us to countenance our government launching preemptive wars and hogging the world's resource? Or, lo, as cynics say, are we merely uninformed, mindless consumers moving along in lemming formation toward the cliff?

Possible still, maybe soon we'll have had enough!

Of course, blame shared by Congress and the media cannot be overstated. Congress was craven in its support of the Iraq war. Seventy-seven senators voted for it - including Senators Clinton and Rockefeller who, among others, remained silent even after having access to solid intelligence questioning the WMD claims. The media gave Bush star power and waxed eloquent about the triumph of good over evil. (This in stark contrast to the little coverage given recent studies revealing 935 lies Bush and his aids told to take us to war.)

Five years hence, the fanciful happy talk long waned, we're facing problems at home and abroad few could have imagined.

The president has morphed into a buffoon; our soldiers are trapped in a $3 trillion quagmire; crises are worsening in the Middle East; war profiteering has become a lawless enterprise; working Americans are facing economic disaster as jobs go overseas and wealth trickles up; the national debt is approaching $10 trillion; and our civil liberties and human rights are being steadily stripped away.

Details of this grim picture are woefully lacking in the media. Nearly off the radar are the truth about our brutal occupation of Iraq and the growing instability and humanitarian disasters in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Palestine.

Cities in Iraq are ravaged. The water and the land are contaminated. An estimated one million people have died; 5 million are displaced, and civil order has broken down. Women, who had made up more than half of Iraqi professionals, are now forced from their jobs and are being systematically abducted, raped and murdered. At least two million children lack adequate nutrition - countless numbers are orphaned - and an estimated 90 percent of the people suffer some form of depression.

Meanwhile, the "surge," with 30,000 additional troops on the ground and 100,000 pounds of bombs dropped, has fixed nothing. The truth is, Iraqi militants are being paid off with money and guns while the administration schemes to move in the oil giants and make their robber-baron exploit require permanent occupation.

The people in Afghanistan are trapped in a narco-state - the most desperate among them becoming inaccessible to humanitarian aid. The government is notoriously corrupt; the institutions are controlled by organized criminal gangs; and the coalition forces are increasingly ineffectual.

The human misery in Gaza is a disgrace to the civilized world - 1.5 million people are being held captive by the Israeli government (with U.S. support and approval) with the stated goal of collectively crushing them into submission - a failed policy for the world to see. Misery breeds rage. Rage breeds violence. Trapped in the circle, the people in Gaza are in gulag despair and Israel is no safer for it. The silence on this is deafening.

Yet another horror is the instability in Pakistan and Afghanistan with nuclear weapons in the mix. Terrorists are forming alliances and gaining power. Bush's standard response is to ratchet up war rhetoric and sell billions of dollars of arms to dictators around the world. What better way to fuel extremism and spawn terrorists than to mouth hollow rhetoric about "spreading democracy" while propping up dictators who oppress their people?

A neocon foreign policy, predicated on naked power and perpetual war, played out in a nuclear-armed world is hair-raising. Yet, as unthinkable as it seems, Bush may open up the first front of Armageddon by attacking Iran. So, in fact, might the next president.

The question is: who's going to challenge their policies of aggression and empire? Who's going to demand fidelity to the Constitution, accountability to the people and balance of power in government? Certainly not our invertebrate Congress or the "unitary executive" ideologues on the Supreme Court.

We're it!

Seneca 2 is sponsoring Ray McGovern, a 27-year veteran of the CIA, to speak at WVSU Student Union on April 30. McGovern, currently one of the most respected and informed critics of U.S. foreign policy, served as an intelligence briefer for President Reagan from 1981-85. He was charged with preparing President's Daily Security Briefs for Reagan, Vice President Bush, the National Security Advisor, the Joint Chiefs and the Cabinet. He later served as a senior CIA analyst and prepared daily briefs for the first President Bush.

The forum, co-sponsored by WVSU Political Science Department, begins at 7 p.m. It's free to the public with free parking on campus.

Knapp is a leader of Seneca 2.