And third, the events in NYC, Washington, and Afghanistan,we are told by our government, auger a larger project, a war on terrorism, whosecharacter, as we can already see, is to be quite like that of the Cold War. Itwill, if it actually transpires as intended, marshal hate and fear throughmanipulation and misrepresentation into support for policies that further enrichand empower the already rich and powerful. Everyone, at some level, knows this.The average American is not surprised that corporations and the government seekto use fear of terror to redistribute funds upward by means of regressive taxreforms and boondoggle military spending, to gut public programs, to stiflepublic debate by calls for patriotism from the media, and to restrict rights bydraconian legislation. But not as commonly understood is that active dissent cancurb these trends and can foster opposite ones on behalf of the poor, of thosewho work, and of those who need civil liberties. And dissenters continuing todissent and to make known the power of dissent, are thus absolutely essential,in this, now as at any other time.