The dastardly and unjustifiable attacks of September 11, 2001 shocked and unnerved America. Though the loss in life and security must not be downplayed, perhaps the most frightful casualty has been our habit of freedom. Just as no one predicted the use of airliners as weapons of mass destruction, perhaps no one could have predicted the ease and speed with which we, as Americans, have surrendered to our most unreasoned fears and to the heavy-handed demagoguery that has followed.

The primary architect of this slide into oppression has been US Attorney General John Ashcroft. Nearly lost among the tumult of the 2000 November general elections was the defeat of Ashcroft's bid for reelection to the United States Senate. Faced with John Ashcroft for a second term, the voters of Missouri chose instead to install a dead man. Perhaps scarred by this blatant slap in the face by the democratic process, Ashcroft has apparently decided that the people are not be trusted, with anything.

As such he has endeavoured to undermine centuries-old legal guarantees and well-established freedoms. Ironically enough, his tenure as head of the Department of Justice has seen the adoption of the first stages of a repressive regime. If John Ashcroft is not brought to heel, he will -- in the name of defending freedom -- usher in a state whose excesses would fit more easily in the rule of Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia than in the liberty-loving tradition of the United States.

Proximate blame lies with President George W. Bush, who rescued Ashcroft from the dustbin of failed politicians and raised him to the highest law enforcement position in the land. Occupied with the military and diplomatic efforts of the war on terrorism, Bush has turned a blind eye -- or, sometimes, lent an enthusiastic shoulder -- to the excesses and abuses of the Ashcroft DoJ. But ultimate responsibility lies with us, the American people, who have too long and too meekly tolerated the naked aggression launched by Ashcroft and his cronies against the principles that make America a great and free nation.

It is time to speak up. It is time to speak out. It is time to demand that the erosion of American liberty not be permitted under the flimsiest of pretenses. Act now -- the freedom you save might just be your own.