A recent blog article expressed the thought that we aren't in an evil totalitarian dictatorship, and did so using the premise that we're still here to protest the government. While I agree that we aren't IN an Evil totalitarian dictatorship (to be referred hereafter in this blog as "ETD"), I believe we're on that track, and it is only through vigilance and action that we will avoid it.

Consider that, prior to the 1960's, children entered school in the first grade at 6 years of age. There was no kindergarten, and, when it did come about, it was optional. Soon, it was a requirement for public schools, even though most states' compulsory attendance laws don't affect children before the age of 6, some later. Thus, five year olds attending school became the norm.

A generation later, under the auspices of improving education, head start and preschool programs, while still not mandatory, pushed the start age of school age children back to four. A good deal of peer pressure was used to urge parents into compliance.

Still another generation later, preschools are urging parents to send their kids to preschool or Head Start at 3 years of age. Not only is peer pressure used, but in one case in Wisconsin, whose minimum compulsory attendance age is 6, a parent was charged with truancy for pulling her 3 year old son OUT of Head Start (the case didn't even make it to court, but the authorities DID attempt it).

See a trend here? I do. It is not hard to envision an age when parents are required to surrender their children as wards of the state shortly following birth. They will, of course, have evenings with them, but in the daily course of instruction, parental rights and beliefs systems will be undermined.

Going further...When the Social Security system was established, the government assured Americans that Social Security cards would NOT be used as national ID cards, as the vast majority of Americans did not want such a card. Social Security cards have, however, increasingly been used to "sell" the idea of a national ID card to the American public, as they are now needed for virtually every credit related transaction, and are often used by organizations that have no business using them. The idea of a national ID card has been tossed around, ostensibly for the purposes of national security, and, for the record, you CAN be detained by police with no charges in this country if you fail to carry ID on your person.

The age of the internet, as well, has not only brought about greater access to information for the home, it has brought it about for the government as well. Increased surveillance is becoming the norm, and while we never have truly had privacy, the government has now given itself authority to potentially unlimited breaches of Constitutional rights under the auspices of national security. The idea that we can detain "potential terrorists" indefinitely without trial is also a hallmark of an ETD, and is especially frightening when you consider that at least one state (Oregon) recently attempted to word its anti terrorism law to include public demonstrations.

So, in response to the article stating that we are not an ETD: You are right. But we are fast in danger of becoming so, and it is only through vigilance that we have a chance to avoid it.