The Taliban was pretty widely regarded as a bad government in Afghanistan. Though the US initially supported them in their efforts to control the country (largely because the alternative was the further expansion of the Soviet Empire and because the Taliban took a hard stand against drugs, the country's chief export), I think it's fair to say that even their one time allies were not long in understanding what a horrific mistake had been made in supporting them. Under the Taliban-led government, individuals were suppressed, and a hardline interpretation of Islam enforced.

We in the United States have long lived under the illusion that, having a government with democratic principles, we are immune to such pitfalls. But actually, in our government, in this day and age, Taliban style oppression is actually MORE easily achieved.

Over 200 years ago, Alexis de Tocqueville got it. In his missive Democracy in America, de Tocqueville wrote of the "oppression of the majority". The idea was that a majority opinion could and WOULD suppress the rights of the minority if not held in check. Recent history has proven that to be true.

Usually, however, majority opinion is shaped by reason and common moral values. Thous shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and many other similar concepts are pretty much universally understood and accepted by secularists and religious individuals alike. I think it's fair to say that there are a number of laws where you could find nearly 100% agreement among Americans as to whether they are acceptable or not.

The problem comes when you step OUTSIDE those boundaries and impose laws based on OPINION. Often that opinion is NOT held by the majority, which can present a problem when those in power are those who feel passionate about those laws. The solution, then, is to change the mind of the majority so that, in fact, the will of the MINORITY becomes the law of the land (Sorry, gay marriage advocates, this is where I leave you stranded. Fact 1 is that the majority of Americans feel strongly against gay marriage. Fact 2 is that as long as you fight dogmatically against the rights of those who feel differently than you do, you neither deserve nor will receive MY support...but I digress). We do this through many different means.

One way we shape the opinion of a majority of Americans is through polls. By selectively phrasing questions, we can mislead Americans into believing that they are in the minority in their thinking when in fact the reverse is true. This is, of course, a very common tactic in political elections.

Then, of course, we rely on studies. These studies are skewed in the same way that the poll results are skewed. They are set up to achieve the results desired by the individual or group financing the study. If the desired outcome isn't achieved, the results are thrown out and the study is not published. The group will then attempt to change the design of the study until it "proves" their hypothesis (if you think this is about the article published immediately prior to this, you're right...but again, I digress).

The third, and possibly most sinister way that we change the minds of the public is by grabbing hold of the most extreme cases to "prove" our point and portraying them as typical. Immunizations have been advanced this way, by relying on alarmist statistics that don't tell the whole story to frighten citizens into believing that there is a fear when there is, in fact, none (pandemic, anyone?).

In America, we are especially adept at this tactic. We create movies and TV shows "based on a true story" that use hyperbole and innuendo to advance our case, and draw sympathy to our cause. Basically, most movies and TV shows that are being produced in this country are, essentially, long running advertisements for a point of view.

Our government is in grave danger of repeating the mistakes of the Taliban. We're removing any reference of a deity from public space, reminiscent of the Taliban's destruction of religious artifacts that represented any other god but Allah. We're suppressing religious freedom by criminalizing standards of child rearing that have long gone hand in hand with certain religious philosophies. We're suppressing individual liberties by persecuting those whose views differ from our own. And we're creating a climate of fear by encouraging individuals to anonymously report activities to government agents to persecute those who "color outside the lines".

I had thought we were smarter than this, but I'm beginning to strongly suspect I was mistaken.