What’s Happened to America?
by Sheldon Richman, July 4, 2003

Who says the government schools and the welfare state don’t work? They work perfectly. They were designed to put the American people into a political coma, and that’s what they’ve done.

The objective would never be framed that way. The politicians would say that the purpose was to create unity, patriotism, and gratitude toward those who “protect our freedom,” that is, the government. But in fact, the purpose was to induce a political coma, and it’s done so.

How else to explain that few people give a hoot that we were obviously lied into war by the president of the United States, the vice president, the secretary of state, the secretary of defense, and others, without a proper congressional declaration, and led to believe that Saddam Hussein was both willing and able to launch so-called weapons of mass destruction against us on 45 minutes’ notice? ...