As I pulled into the parking space, I noticed a traffic sign on the curb was decorated with graffiti. Someone had taken a black marking pen and scrawled “God Bleess Amreca” across the bottom of the white rectangle. I shut the engine and stared at the sign. God Bleess Amreca. Poor spellers of the world, untie!

Welcome to the War on Terror. Sixteen months ago, our friend with the Sharpie would have no doubt been scratching away, but the sentiment would have been less edifying (although easier to spell). Is it a good thing, that the illiterate vandals of America are turning their thoughts to God and country? Probably not. The graffito on the sign was not just a reflection of the depressing state of public education in Vermont, but a reminder that the response of many of our fellow citizens to terror attacks is the kind of automatic resort to jingoism that does nothing to break the cycle of violence.

What is needed is leadership, but our leaders are only too eager to take advantage of the above-mentioned idiocy. In February of this year – not that long ago, although it now seems like an age of innocence – the Defense Department launched the Office of Strategic Influence. The OSI was intended to open a propaganda front in the war on terror by distributing information and, deliberately, misinformation about America in parts of the world where anti-American sentiment runs high. The Pentagon said clearing up misconceptions about America would make people less apt to hate us and by strategically placing misinformation here and there, it was hoped we could foil future terrorist attacks. It was immediately pointed out that mixing lies and truth is probably the worst technique for gilding the national lily and the Office of Strategic Influence was closed before it opened. (Unless, of course, news of the closure was strategically placed misinformation.)

In the drowsy days of summer, the Justice Department announced the Terrorist Information and Prevention System, or TIPS. All sorts of Americans were to be recruited to spy on you and me and especially that hot young Mrs. Johnson down the street. Just as in the case of the Office of Strategic Influence, sensible people started screaming and heckling and the Justice Department, like the Defense Department, announced that no such plan was in place. Just a misunderstanding. A few months later, it was revealed that the 1-800 TIPS line was still being answered, but by staffers at the television show “America’s Most Wanted” at the Fox Network. The Fox Network is the network that does not have a political agenda and is not tied to the Bush administration. Remember that.

Now, 12 weeks later, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, must be sure his political constituency – the God Bleess Amreca crowd – has forgotten the strategic influence and TIPS programs, because he felt free to introduce Total Information Awareness, an Orwellian database of every e-mail, credit card purchase, library loan, ATM withdrawal and pay-toilet transaction in America, or Amreca. All your personal information will be henceforth supervised by the unblinking eye of five-time felon John Poindexter. How stupid must they think we are? Three times in a year and still they keep coming back. Or perhaps never going away. The Office of Strategic Influence was closed down, they say. The Justice Department backed off the TIPS program, but somehow the TIPS phone line stayed up and running. The Total Information Awareness program – well, we’re told it won’t be all that bad, it’s for our own good, we’ll probably never know it’s there.

Is there a pattern here? The tide is running against civil liberty in America. Each wave pushes father up the beach, threatening to drown the rights of individual citizens. Now comes the rogue wave, the announcement that the Bush administration’s failure to prevent the 9-11 attacks will be investigated by Henry Kissinger, the secret bomber of Cambodia, the secret plotter of Chilean coups, the man who wire-tapped his own staff. Trust Dr. Henry, he’ll get to the bottom of this and when he does, the people will know the whole truth.

God Bleess Amreca.