Remember what we all learned from our high school civics teachers about the Bill of Rights and the constitutional system of checks and balances? The founding fathers created a system with built-in protections and restraints, not because they trusted leaders to be good but because they knew the allure of power to be irresistible. Remember what we all learned in history class about how republics come to an end? About Caesar? About Napoleon? What about Nixon?

We know from history that the main difference between the good guys and the bad guys is that when the going gets tough, the good guys still follow the rules. They know that, no matter how good their intentions may be, when you start bending the rules or going around the constitution, you set a dangerous precedent. The bad guys don't usually think of themselves as bad, they think of themselves as so good and so right that the rules don't apply to them. They usually think that the ends justify the means, and ultimately, they don't have much respect for the truth or for democracy. This is all the more true in times of crisis. If the rules don't apply now, they will never apply.

Now more than ever, the price of liberty is eternal vigilance. Here's why I am firmly convinced it's time for us to start paying:

• The Bush administration has begun incarcerating American citizens, without due process or habeas corpus and denying them access to their attorneys. Just because the people he has imprisoned so far have dark skin and arabic-sounding names and Bush accuses them of being terrorists doesn't make the precedent any less dangerous.
• The Bush administration has led us into a war of aggression, showing utter contempt for the systems of collective security that have kept America safe for more than half a century. Knowing that the majority of Americans would not support an unprovoked war for "regime change," he presented lies and distortions about weapons of mass destruction and ties to Al Queda.
• The Bush administration has lied about much more than Niger uranium. He has lied so consistently -- about the economy, about tax cuts, about the environment, about his ties to corporate evil-doers like Ken Lay, not to mention about war and terrorism -- it is almost impossible to assume he ever tells the truth about anything any more. He lies and then shamelessly accuses those who challenge his lies of lacking patriotism.
• The Bush administration has begun to unravel basic civil rights under the Patriot Act, even though there is no evidence that relaxing or suspending constitutional protections will contribute to greater security. The Bush administration has countenanced even more drastic invasions with "Total Information Awareness." The technology to create an Orwellian system of "total surveillance" already exists. Only constant public scrutiny and outcry will assure that it is never used.
• The Bush Administration has always operated under a pall of secrecy, repeatedly invoking "national security." While making plans for war, the Bush administration refused to reveal all of what it knew about the Iraqi regime; we've now learned why they were not so forthccoming. While abrogating American civil liberties, the Bush administration has suppressed information about the real sources of terrorism, blacking out major portions of the 9/11 report. Without openness, accountability is impossible. Without accountability, democracy is impossible.
• Forget about hanging chads and recounts and Supreme Court partisanship. Under the pretense of removing felons from the voting rolls, Republicans in Florida illegally deprived 94,000 people of the vote -- the majority of whom were African Americans and Democrats. Despite the fact that the vast majority of these were not felons and were wrongfully denied the right to vote, Gov. Jeb Bush and Katherine Harris still refuse to restore voting rights to these individuals. Republicans have plans to spread Florida-style "election reform" to other states, using similar computer-generated "purge lists." Click here for the full story.

We acquiesce in this type of behavior at our own risk. If we don't challenge leaders when they show a lack of respect for the truth or for basic democratic principles, we encourage them to violate even more. Now is the time for vigilance, and nobody ever said vigilance was free.

If you care about the future, decide now what you are going to do. Volunteer to help with voter registration efforts. Give money or volunteer time for the candidate of your choice. Get involved in the process now, while it's still possible to affect the outcome. Don't wait for special interests to get their teeth into the primaries. Speak out. Write letters to the editor. Write to your elected leaders. Let them know that you are paying attention and that you vote!

If you disagree, tell me what you think! That's what being citizens in a democracy means.