We have met the enemy and he is us.

When did the Governments and the people of the United States become bitter enemies?
The government is us, or at least it is supposed to be. And, who attacked whom?

I went to a lecture on septic tanks at the water department of my local county. But not without first being given the airport security treatment. Now I might understand the necessity of preventing weapons being smuggled into a courtroom, but a lecture on septic tanks? I think that not all the shit is in the tanks.
Yes, I have heard the headlines, and the carefully crafted news stories. But they are careful to gloss over the underlying causes. They don't mention that the citizen acts they fear are generally those of desperation. They never mention that employees and officers of the government routinely abuse the system for self-aggrandizement or self-enrichment. They don't mention that anyone paying attention could have seen most of these events coming. (The press also never even acknowledges that there might be a copy-cat facet to this behavior - that might be seen as partly their fault).
Nothing is ever done to improve the relationship of those who work for us the people with those of us who pay them. Nothing is ever done on the part of our governments to restore our faith in our employees. If indeed they even know that by working for the government they ARE our employees.
So they withdraw from us, avoid contact with us mere voters, become impossible to contact, become aloof, disregard our wishes and act against our interests, and build themselves fortresses behind armed guards and metal detectors and X-ray machines. If the truly acted in our interest, they would have nothing to fear.

And still the majority of our population will vote for them because they recognize the name, or because they want to vote for the winner; or because they think they are stealing for them, not stealing from them. And thinking about our relationship with our employees takes time away from American Idol.