THE CRIME

Look around. If you look really closely, you’ll see that something is very wrong. If you look in every direction and into every possible hiding place, you’ll become aware of the awful truth: The United States of America, the proud nation that existed just a few years ago, is no more.

Only five years ago, the US had a clear identity.  Only five years ago the US had a definable nature and a credible reputation.  Only five years ago we knew pretty much who we were as Americans.  But that time, that safe and comfortable time is no more.

As 2005 comes to an end, there is nothing to be gained by denial. At this moment in our history, our identity as a nation and as a people has disappeared. It did not go willingly, and it did not go peacefully.  Instead, our identity as Americans was destroyed by design and by stealth.

In essence, the people of the United States have become the collective victims of one of the most insidious offenses in recent times: the crime of identity theft.

No, we were never a perfect nation, or a saintly one.  But we were working at it.  We had our shameful moments and we did our share of damage. But we were a nation that cherished its founding principles. We knew, that whatever else went amiss, the nation was guided by the most astounding document in modern history.  In the long run, we would right the wrongs and learn from our misdeeds.  For in the end, we were a nation of laws, guided through bad times and good by the Constitution of the United States.

No more. This is no longer that country.  We have been stripped of the distinction we held such a short while ago as citizens of the United States.  The theft of our national identity has been thorough and complete.

o add insult to injury, the most painful aspect of this outrage is that we are only too well acquainted with the thieves. And at this writing, the culprits who wronged us are safely at work in the White House.

THE CRIMINALS

This was not an easy robbery to commit.  Mugging an entire nation called for experts, - men and women familiar with treachery and betrayal, and capable of a highly organized crime. Several were felons from a bygone administration and others emerged from think tanks such as the Project for a New American Century. Still others were well known government officials from a former time.

And fronting them all was George W. Bush, their carefully selected and conveniently installed President of the United States.

To pull off their heist, members of the identity theft 'mob’ had to infiltrate every branch and agency of government.  More important, all would be lost if they could not totally control the nation’s media.  Once that was done, they could sit it out and wait for the right moment to come.

And come it did, when "everything changed," on the morning of Sept.11th, 2001.

Almost immediately, their well laid plans went into effect as the theft began. In rapid succession, the Patriot Act, the war against the Taliban, the War on Terror and the invasion of Iraq became the orders of the day. All had been prepared in advance, and all were thrust upon a traumatized nation too frightened and far too uninformed to know what was happening to them.

The criminals involved in the theft were most definitely professionals.  They knew their marks well and were adept at frightening Americans into almost grateful submission. Their contrived color alerts and fabricated terror threats were released unrelentingly on an already wounded public. They set their terror traps cleverly and expertly.

And they ensnared a nation.

And then, when they were ready for the kill, they enlisted a battalion of loyal capos: the zealots of religious right.  Together they fashioned an even broader fear package to sell to America.  The big guns had already pushed the nation’s panic button: fear more attacks, fear terrorists, fear Islam, fear your neighbor, fear protesters, fear critics, fear liberals, fear anyone, so long as you remain afraid.

But now they could branch out into new fears:  fear gays, fear stem cell research, fear choice, fear separation of church and state, fear non believers, fear anyone who has not found your God and fear anyone who does not support your politics.

The team was unbeatable. The scam was on. And the American people were about to pay a very high price.

THE COST

We really have lost so much at the hands of these felons.  The loss of our national identity has left us bereft of all that made us so proud to be Americans. Like the faceless Invisible Man, we are now destined to wander through life with no reflection at all.   We can only wonder who we really are, and mourn what we have tragically lost.

Let’s face it. In just five short years the George W. Bush administration has changed the very nature of this country. It seems like only yesterday that Americans took such pride in their country and had such faith in its integrity. We really believed in the power of democracy and despite our diversity we shared so many goals and dreams.

Among other things, we truly believed that:

• right made might, and war would always be a last resort
• ours was a government of and by and for the people
• our rights as Americans were protected by the Constitution
• we had the right and the responsibility to question elected officials
• we had every right to peacefully protest the actions of our government
• an attack on our nation would be immediately investigated
• secrecy in government was limited to security issues
• our government would always honor its international agreements
• our President would not lie about the reasons for going to war
• we would never launch a preventive war against a non belligerent nation
• those opposed to a war of choice would never be viewed as traitors
• our leaders sought the respect of the world community
• we were committed to the UN and global cooperation
• our elected officials would not personally profit from wars
• our government would help protect human rights everywhere
• our Constitution guaranteed a system of checks and balances
• there was a clear separation between church and state
• scientific knowledge could not be replaced by religious dogma
• our government was committed to protecting the environment
• our nation would never be placed in enormous debt for generations
• our military would be properly armed when sent to war
• our leaders would never condone the use of torture
• our Constitution protected us from the abuses of government
• due process was an inherent right of anyone suspected of wrongdoing
• our media could not be controlled or intimidated by the government
• our leaders could be held accountable for their actions
• voting machines would leave a paper trail and could not be compromised
• our government would never be permitted to spy on law abiding citizens
• our nation would never strive for military domination of the globe

but most of all, we truly believed that

• we would never, ever be ashamed to be Americans

How wrong we were.

THE CONSEQUENCES

Today, the nation we once knew is all but unrecognizable.  Our identity is non existent and lost in the fog of an endless war and a badly weakened Constitution. It is buried under insatiable corporate greed and deluded dreams of empire. It is muddled by the self-righteous protestations of religious fanatics who never understood the meaning of democracy in the first place.  And the damage may not be reversible.

In personal situations, as disturbing as it is, identity theft is often overcome. The process may take months or years, but in the end, the confusion has a chance of being sorted out.  But that is not the case when the victim of such a theft is a nation.

Whatever the circumstance, the greatest damage in identity theft occurs while the target is still unaware of the crime. And so it was with America.  For the past five years, much of the nation has been totally oblivious to its own victimization. Smothered by fear and misguided by propaganda and disinformation, millions of Americans willingly participated in their own abuse.

And at this moment, far too many are still unaware of the crime.

And at this moment, the criminals are still at large. They usurp more power every day that they are permitted to do so. They eviscerate the Constitution at every possible opportunity, and they use this once great nation as a tool for their own malevolent ambitions.

Should they continue unimpeded for the next three years, the nation will be damned for an eternity. George Bush and his accomplices are well on their way to erasing what little is left of the America we once knew.

The fact remains that a loss of identity can leave victims immersed in bewilderment and devoid of direction. Their only hope lies in facing the problem and fighting to regain what is rightfully theirs.

This nation has been plunged into exactly that condition.  Those of us who know we’ve been taken are inexcusably hesitant and indecisive as we struggle to find our way out of the darkness.  We don’t know which way to turn or what to do.

It seems, then, that our only hope lies in facing the problem head on and admitting that we have been taken, big time.  We have to confront the dreadful reality of having lost our identity as Americans.

And then we had better make up our minds to fight like hell to regain the nation that is rightfully ours. The mother of all battles will be fought at the polls less than a year from now. And we have no other alternative but to win.

Anything else is far too painful to imagine.