MB Civic

http://select.nytimes.com/2006/09/14/opinion/14herbert.html?pagewanted=print

“The very character of the United States is changing, and not for the better…What I thought was the greatest expression of the American character in my lifetime occurred in the immediate aftermath of those catastrophic attacks. The country came together in the kind of resolute unity that I imagine was similar to the feeling most Americans felt after Pearl Harbor…The invasion of Iraq marked the beginning of the change in the American character.” [N.B. Interesting he should use the Pearl Harbor simile, given that many believe 9/11 to have been similarly either “allowed” to happen, or even “assisted” by members of the Administration.]

“There was a time when…there was general agreement among Americans that torture was beyond the pale. But when people are frightened enough, nothing is beyond the pale. And we’re in an era in which the highest leaders in the land stoke…the fears of ordinary citizens…The president has put us on this path away from the better angels of our nature…The character of the U.S. has changed. We are in danger of being completely ruled by fear.”