*We grew up knowing we were the greatest power on the planet and were laid low by a band of psychopaths with box cutters.*

James 4:6 - God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

The problem with America is not Christianity, but the takeover of the Conservative Church by nationalist fanatics. In many cases these people have no concept of what the Bible actually says, and think they can do His (being a theological conservative myself, please forgive / overlook my use of the masculine pronoun)work through the government. In fact, the Bible makes an extremely compelling case that it cannot be done (cliff notes version: Israel asks for a king so they can be like their neighbors, God grudgingly obliges, knowing it will never work but apparently determined to let them learn their lesson on their own - Israel is supposed to be God's light to the rest of the world, they simply act as all the other pagan nations, exploiting the poor while the kings, even the best of them, take resources and women at will, to God's great displeasure. 400some-odd years of silence, Jesus arrives on the scene, talking about the Kingdom of God. Jews under Roman rule think he is a political leader who will deliver them from the Romans, turns out he just wants to deliver them from the power of sin, and has no political ambitions, except to call out the religious leaders on their bullshit, if you'll excuse my French. Threatened with the loss of their power and influence, the hypocritical religious leaders turn Jesus over to the Romans to be executed. Disillusioned and frustrated by his lack of political action, most of the people, even many of his former followers, cheer on the execution. Epilogue - The Church thrives under heavy persecution for years, until someone gets the bright idea of making it an official religion. Almost immediately after receiving political power, the Catholic church becomes corrupt and stays that way, exploiting the poor and enriching themselves, right up until the Reformation).

The point that I am trying to make is, there is nothing wrong with having political opinions informed by religious beliefs. But mixing the two until you can't tell which is which is always a recipe for disaster. And a Christian who is trying to "be like Jesus" should probably think twice before entering the political arena (as so many in the Moral Majority, etc have, whether they've run for office or not) because Jesus never did (in fact he ran from it, check John 6:15).

In many ways "Americanism" and Christianity are opposed. We are a prideful people, while the Bible preaches humility. We esteem greed as a virtue, while the Bible condemns it. We are instructed to live at peace with everyone, as much as we can (paraphrasing the apostle Paul), not fan the flames of "culture wars." And we glory in our strength, whether it be military or intellectual or what have you, while the Bible teaches that God's strength is made perfect in our weakness. Most of the self-professed Christians making up the right wing of American politics don't understand this because they are not actually Christians. They simply pay lip service to an old esteemed institution, the Church, without paying attention to what the Church is founded upon.

I'm overstaying my welcome, but one more thing: America did not "used to be great." For the first 100 or so years of our collective existence, we allowed the slave trade to continue and mercilessly drove out the indigenous peoples. Racial hatred continues on a large scale to this day. And for the last 100 years or so, we have made a habit out of distastrous interventions throughout the world, but especially in Latin America, all in the name of our continued security and prosperity. Google "Pinochet" or "Kubark" or "Haiti" and so many more to see the result of our work. The only difference between the last eight years and the forty or so before is what we used to do in secret we now feel we can do in the open. I believe in a righteous God. I am not afraid of America, I am afraid for us.

America is actually mostly alone in not criminalizing hate speech. In fact, it is a treaty obligation (CERD and the ICCPR, I believe) that most countries observe, not simply "repressive" regimes like China. I agree that its hard to tell where to draw the line, but I don't think refusing to draw one is a reason to act all superior. And remember that we also don't have limitless free speech by any definition. You can still be sued for defamation and libel, and you can get in big trouble for disclosing information you shouldn't have (not that many of us are in positions to spitefully leak classified information, or those that do are punished - that's a Valerie Plame reference, in case you're wondering).

Apologies for talking to the troll, but...

The presumption of innocence doesn't continue after the defendant has pled guilty. We had a framework for conducting these wiretaps with FISA. The Bush administration disregarded the law, and they have admitted it. They simply expect not to be punished, because they assume that the people love the feeling of safety more than their rights. They are probably right, but the presumption of innocence has nothing to do with it.