Perhaps withdrawing the animal analogy would be best. It is, as all analogies must be, flawed. That being said, I still maintain the other points in those posts. These are:
The trouble is, people don't pay attention. The vast majority are apathetic creatures who want nothing more than to be told that it's safe to go to sleep, that it's safe to send your kids to school. Bush is accomplishing that by playing on the fears of Americans. I could be wrong, but I have always believed fear to be an incredibly effective tactic in controling the masses. It appears that I am right, when given the current state of politics in this country.
I believe that the nature of man is not good. I believe good is a conscious choice that some make, and some don't, a majority of the time. While I will grant that all of us make a mixture of the two, most of us have a definite preference, consious or not. As to complacence, I would submit that this world has not become complacent, rather it is the default state. People are content to take the path of least resistance. Were that not the case, you and I would surely live in a markedly different world.
I wonder if there ins't some inherant responsibility to educate one's self to take advantage of the freedoms being squandered. I personally believe that freedoms gauranteed by the constitution are a great thing. However, freedoms such as these in the hands of the uneducated, disinterested, apathetic masses can be a bad thing.
I believe that in the society in which velcro closing shoes were invented that a good measure of control and illusion must be excersized on the masses. If it weren't, a reign of idiots would be ushered in that would make the shrub-one seem like a true MENSA candidate. The illusion of freedom is enough for some people.
You ought to have to take a test before you register to vote. Anyone without a passing grade gets passed over till next year. Democrats would lose the entire inner city population of the country, and republicans would lose the South, in its entirety. Sounds like a fair trade to me.
These being made, I will allow you all to rebut.