The German people of the late 1930s imagined themselves as brave. They saw themselves as the heroic Germans depicted by the Wagnerian Operas, the descendants of the fierce Germanic warriors who hunted wild boar with nothing but spears, and who defeated three of Rome's mightiest legions in the Tuetenberg Forest. But in truth, by the 1930s, the German people had become apathetic and complacent; Germans were required to behave as if they were brave, even when they were not.

It's easy to look back and realize what a jerk Hitler was, but at the time and with the help of the media, Hitler looked pretty good to the German people. He was TIME Magazine's Man Of The Year in 1938. The German people assumed they were safe from a tyrant, after all, they lived in a Republic with strict laws regarding what the government could and, more importantly, could not do. Their leader was a devoutly religious man, and had even sung with the boy's choir of a monastery in his youth.

In reality, the German people, as individuals, had lost their courage. The German government preferred it that way as a fearful people are easier to rule than a courageous one. But the German people didn't wish to lose their self-image of courage, so when confronted with a situation demanding individual courage in the form of a government gone wrong, the German people simply pretended that the situation did not exist. And in that simple self-deception lay the destruction of their nation and the spark of a world war.

When the Reichstag burned down, most Germans simply refused to believe suggestions that the fire had been staged by Hitler himself. They were afraid, and so trapped by their belief in their own bravery that they blinded themselves to the evidence before their eyes so that they could nod in agreement with Der Fuhrer while still imagining themselves to have courage, even as they avoided the one situation which most required real courage; to stand up to Hitler's lies and deceptions.

When Hitler requested temporary extraordinary powers, powers specifically banned under German law but powers Hitler claimed he needed to deal with the "terrorists", the German people agreed. The temporary powers were granted, and once granted lasted until Germany itself was destroyed.

When Hitler staged a phony invasion from Poland, the vast majority of the German people, their own self-image dependant on continued blindness to Hitler's deceptions, did not question why Poland would have done something so stupid, and found themselves in a war. Hitler knew he ruled a nation of cowards, and knew he had to further deceive and manipulate them in order to get them to fight the new war. He decorated his troops with regalia to make them proud of themselves. Hitler copied the parade regalia of ancient Rome to remind the Germans of the defeat of the legions at the Tuetenberg Forest. Talismans were added from a variety of religions to fill the soldiers with delusions of mystical strengths and an afterlife if they fell in battle. Finally, knowing that it takes courage to kill the enemy face to face, Hitler spent vast sums of money on his wonder weapons - airplanes, submarines, the world's first cruise missile, and the world's first guided missile - weapons that could be used to kill at a distance so that those doing the killing need not have to face the reality of what they were doing.

The German people were lured into WW2 not because they were brave, but because they were cowards who wanted to be seen as brave, and found that shooting long range weapons at people they could not see took less courage than standing up to Hitler. Sent into battle by that false image of courage, the Germans were dependent on their wonder-weapons. When they stopped working, the Germans lost the war.

I remember as a child listening to the stories of WW2 from my grandfather who had served in Europe. I wondered how the German people could have been so stupid as to elect Hitler; such is the clarity of historical hindsight. And with that clarity, I see the exact same mechanism that Hitler used at work here in this nation.

The American people imagine themselves as brave. They see themselves as the heroic Americans depicted by Western movies, the descendants of the fierce patriot warriors who had tamed the frontier and defeated the mighty British Empire. But in truth, by the dawn of the third millennium, the American people have become apathetic and complacent; Americans are required to behave as if they are brave, even when they are not.

The American people assume they are safe from a tyrant, after all, they live in a Republic with strict laws regarding what the government can and, more importantly, cannot do. Their leader is a devoutly religious man. In reality, the American people, as individuals, have lost their courage. The government prefers it that way as a fearful people are easier to rule than a courageous one. But Americans don't wish to lose their self-image of courage, so when confronted with a situation demanding courage in the form of a government gone wrong, the American people simply pretend that the situation does not exist.

When the World Trade Towers collapsed, most Americans simply refused to believe suggestions that the attacks had been staged by parties working within the US Government itself. Americans were afraid, and even as news reports surfaced proving that the US Government had announced plans for the invasion of Afghanistan early in the year - plans into which the attacks on the World Trade Towers and the resulting support of the already-planned war - fit entirely too conveniently. So trapped are Americans by their belief in their own bravery that they blind themselves to the evidence before their eyes so that they can nod in agreement with the government while still imagining themselves to have courage, even as they avoid the one situation which most requires real courage; to stand up to the government's lies and deceptions.

The vast majority of the American people, their own self-image dependant on continued blindness to the government's deceptions, never question why Afghanistan would have done something so stupid as to attack the United States, and as a result, Americans find themselves in a war. Now the US Government has requested temporary extraordinary powers, powers specifically banned under Constitutional law but powers the government is claiming they need to deal with the "terrorists." The American people are agreeing. The temporary powers recently granted will be no more temporary in America than they were in Germany.

The US Government knows they rule a nation of cowards. The government knew it had to further deceive and manipulate them in order to get them to fight the new war. The government has decorated the troops with regalia to make them proud of themselves. Talismans are added from a variety religions to fill the soldiers with delusions of mystical strengths and an afterlife if they fall in battle. Finally, knowing that it takes courage to kill the enemy face to face, the United States government has spent vast sums of money on wonder weapons - airplanes, submarines, cruise missiles, and guided missiles - weapons that kill at a distance so that those doing the killing need not have to face the reality of what they are doing.

As mentioned above, Hitler was TIME Magazine's Man Of The Year in 1938. Stalin was TIME Magazine's Man Of The Year in 1939 and 1942. Both of these men, and many others also celebrated by the media, were unimaginable monsters. The lesson from these facts is that it isn't easy to spot a genocidal tyrant before hand, especially one whom the press supports and promotes. Tyrants become obvious only when looking back, after what they have done becomes known. The German people did not stand up to Hitler because their media betrayed them, just as the American media is betraying the American people by willingly, voluntarily, even proudly, abandoning its traditional role as watchdog against government abuse.

It is the very nature of power that it attracts the sort of people who should not have it. The United States, as the world's last superpower, is a prize that attracts those who are willing to do absolutely anything to win that power, and hence willing to do absolutely anything with that power once they have obtained it. If one thinks about it long enough, one will realize that all tyrants, past and especially present, MUST use deception on their population to initiate a war. No citizen of a modern industrialized nation will send their children off to die in a war to grab another nation's resources and assets, yet resources and assets are what all wars are fought over. The nation that wishes to initiate a war of conquest must create the illusion of an attack or a threat to start a war, and must always give their population of cowards an excuse never to question that carefully crafted illusion.

It is naive, not to mention racist, to assume that tyrants appear only in other nations and that somehow America is immune simply because we're Americans. America has escaped the clutches of a dictatorship thus far only through the efforts of citizens who, unlike the Germans of the 1930s, have the moral courage to stand up and point out where the government is lying to the people. And unless more Americans are willing to have that kind of individual courage, future generations may well look back on Americans of the early 21st century with the same harshness of judgment with which we look back on Germans of the 1930s