Reflection on Totalitarianism

Contemporaneous with the debate on Rules for Torture, this morning we consider the irony of a government, a state, which, while reserving the right to spy upon its citizens, imprison them without trial, lawyer, or charges, outsource them to other countries for torture, and sets up its own gulag, holds itself up as the embodiment of individual rights, liberty and freedom. That there is actually a debate on what kinds of torture to allow (admittedly, after the fact , considering that many have already been tortured on the Emperor's orders, in the most despicable manner [note: Chaos implores you not to read the last link, unless your gastronomic constitution is robust]) is almost beyond comprehension to a being of Chaos' age; younger sentients may be more inured to the phenomenon. Chaos can only echo the amazement felt recently, when the Emperor in passing admitted to maintaining "secret CIA prisons", to scant attention in the public arena. Somehow this phrase seems to echo in Chaos' conciousness, along with the inevitable corollary that the overstuffed citizens of this declining state by their silence think that celebrity babies, female news anchors, and the activities of various sports teams are of far greater importance. Not too much of a stretch to conclude that the evil fascists who head the government are merely the authorized reflection of the people who allow them their power.