Also, has the citizenry really become more authoritarian?

I read the last decade as the Bush administration leading the way on policies like illegal detention, rendition, etc., and the citizenry merely following along.

And how do you educate the populace, strengthen their libertarian tendencies, when by and large the media is saturated with the likes of David Broder and Bill Kristol?

Doesn't the other side have the upper hand in the battle for the minds of the people? How do we win that contest?

the first thing you do is - reversing the "authoritarian trend exhibited by the people" and you won't believe how fast the government is following!

OK.

But how do you reverse authoritarian tendencies among the citizenry?

I have a question for Glenn, and the rest of the commenters.

I agree with Glenn's analysis of the civil liberties policies of Obama, and Bush before that. Glenn has been writing about civil liberties issues for a while now, and it's the main reason why I visit this page. The coverage is excellent.

But I've reached the point of fatigue. I'm aware of it, I'm dismayed by it, and I'm wondering what the point is of reading about the latest trampling of constitutional rights?

Does anyone have any ideas about how to reverse the authoritarian trend exhibited by our government?

I think we can rule out voting for Democrats as a viable option, as well as starting a third party. What's left?

We are witnessing the transition of the US justice system from a relatively defendant friendly system to one that is hostile to the defendant. One in which the government games the system to get the result it wants. One in which lip service is paid to former ideals (due process, speedy trials, etc.) merely to attempt to quell popular outrage, or to score political points. The ideals themselves are being abandoned.

I predict this process will continue, and perhaps accelerate in the future. The fact that the Obama administration has, in many ways, continued the policies of the Bush Administration is a very troubling sign.

Where is the movement that will restore our justice system to its previous state? The current situation will serve as a nice jumping off point if there is ever any significant breakdown of social cohesion in the US.