[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]"I used to be disgusted; now I try to be amused."
[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]~ Elvis Costello[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]
Almost everyone is familiar with the genesis of the phrase, "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!" The Wizard of Oz, who uttered this famous phrase, had a scheme. That scheme was based directly upon an impression of omnipotence without any legitimate power. Surely that impression would be lost should anyone see him pulling levers and talking into a microphone. I can’t help but imagine that if an agent of today’s state were to switch places with the Wizard, he’d utter no such words. In fact, I suspect he’d just sit there, a nearly-naked pseudo-emperor, with no concern that we could see him. Instead of trying to be coy, he’d leave us with no choice but to exclaim, "Hey, what happened to the curtain?"[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]
I admit that there was a time when I often found myself aghast with the naïveté of the "common man," whoever that might have seemed to be. That was also the time when I figured that the primary reason, or maybe the only reason, that the state could so successfully infringe upon the rights of the very people it claimed to protect was due to a combination heavy smoke and mirrors, blind trust, and inexplicable deference. Voltaire is credited with saying, "It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere."[/FONT]
