And you are among two (three?) here who have direct experience - which the rest of us lack entirely.

Yes, from that angle.. it ISN'T "BAD" here, nor anywhere near-to what you have described. What I think that no one can predict is: how slippery that slope? There are numerous modern instances around the world of revolutionary-change occurring virtually overnight, as a new regime seizes power. The necessity of daily lying in the service of this or that Corporation: prepares us for the kinds of daily 'lying' you describe. We rarely expect to be told anything without large or extra-large spin attached. This is mind conditioning, if there ever were such a thing.

As to the major differences between US and 'those others' - for our being the most intricately structured society ever, with interdependencies of mind-boggling complexity (think only if.. trucks could not roll every day?): so are we most vulnerable to all those 'unanticipated consequences' of any truly chaotic development.

THEN.. would come the, "we must have lawn'order now at any price" lest cities starve etc. Surely Moscow, Leningrad were a microcosm of how such a catastrophe manifests.. (And yes, I'm somewhat acquainted with the Leningrad siege. That was during war, of course).

There's always a danger of exaggeration of perils; still, the ovine acceptance we have seen of the precursors of "tightening up" are, I think - no cause for great optimism either. We cannot know how much further rationing of civil rights would result in (finally) a bunch of 2x4's upside the head of the major offending pols - but thus far, there appears to have been only grumbling among the few.

It is the easy acceptance of the ludicrous acronyms like {ugh} the P.A.T.R.I.O.T. bill, and the evident agenda of others all here know about (DMCA etc.) - acceptance of what amounts to further consolidation of Corporate governance via outright purchase of writing their own windfalls: this is what I believe signals the complaisance of the US 'Consumer' to date.

Erwache! was on every Nazi guidon flag in those massive processions all have seen: "Awaken". Of course the Nazis meant something quite different.. but the principle holds.



Ashton