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[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

> The reason why these laws are so easy to pass is that almost no one gives a
> damn.  The very concept of personal freedom is fast passing away.

Most voters get excited every four years, some every two, but in between 
focus near-sightedly almost entirely on short-term personal interests. We 
are the land of the vanishing voters. In 1960, 63 percent of us voted; in 
1996, only 49 percent. We frogs in pots of rising water temperature but 
feel no need for alarm.

Citizens don't have time or expertise to deal with national matters, so 
hire those who claim they do. Lobbyists provide the dollars for proven vote 
getters. Congressional whores return favors. While lobbyists are dining 
senators, citizens are dining at McDonald's.

Keep their bellies full, manipulate the media, have top campaign managers 
and money gatherers, and the winners can do almost anything with the 
complacent masses. Polls give guidance.

I don't believe there is an answer to our eroding freedoms short of 
eventual revolution. Aware parents could be the answer but they are largely 
caught in the consumer quagmire. Parents teaching children history and 
civics would help, but the impact would likely be felt on the national 
stage no stronger than a shoulder bump on a crowded New York City subway 
platform.