Quote Originally Posted by Oneironaut
Totalitarianism, as in, unquestioning obedience to the government bureaucracy, Ã* la Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia (or even modern China or Saudi Arabia)? I doubt it. I can't think of too many people in my community who wouldn't fight vehemently against such a regime if it came about. We like at least some semblance of democracy, even if it is only choosing who we want to think for us and tell us what to do. We don't exactly have direct popular control of social affairs (that will probably take a loooong time to accomplish), but we're not exactly heading straight for dictatorial fascism either. Americans may not be the most politically sophisticated people on the planet, but on the whole we're smart enough to realize that living under a republic is far superior to living under totalitarianism, even if the freedoms provided are limited and the popular influence upon social affairs is not as strong as we may like.

Is America on a trend towards greater government control? Certainly. There's no doubt that things like the Patriot Act and other "counter-terrorist" actions by the government are intended to restrict civil liberties and allow the government to do what it wants to more easily. But I can't stand the defeatist "oh no we're going fascist, let's piss and moan about it" kind of attitude a lot of people have about it. If you find your freedom being restricted, do something about it. Find the root of the problem and do what you can to fix it.
Couldn't have said it better myself I agree. This seems to be what I was trying to get at. I don't think Totalitarianism will ever take over, but I'm afraid of moving too close to it.