The only thing we have to fear. . .

I generally don't like watching the network news, because I know the programs are full of half-truths and innuendos. A Muslim terrorist could plant a bomb. A Muslim country might attack.
Or might not.

Still, I usually force myself to watch the news because I want to know what most of America is seeing, and what the majority of Americans believe to be true. Sometimes it becomes an exercise in masochism.

Such was the case tonight. The lead story? Moussaoui planned to attack the White House on 9/11. His accomplice? Richard Reid, the wild-eyed shoe bomber who was not in the U.S. in September 2001.

People will say the story must be true because it came from Moussaoui himself. Maybe. But why would someone who says he hates the U.S. come across as a poorly-coached actor in a B-movie? Kill the infidels. War is deceit. He had all the right lines.

Muslims are not as stupid as we appear to be. Someone who was truly planning a spectacular attack, who sincerely believed he was fighting in the name of Allah, would not be so transparent. So Hollywood.

When I was young, I believed almost everything I heard from the government and the media. Now I believe almost nothing.

Moussaoui confesses to a fifth plane, and refers to the attacks with glee. Government investigators contend that they successfully smuggled nuclear materials across the border. (Which is really strange. The last time I came over the border with Canada, I couldn't even successfully smuggle a styrofoam container of beef curry.) Bombs. Hostages. Trials. Murders. These Muslims are seriously bad guys, aren't they?

That's the image in the news. Reports have been carefully crafted so that, if there is another major attack, Muslims will be the natural culprits. And if that happens, all Muslims will be fair game. Children, mothers, grandmothers, everyone. I mean, if you believe what you hear on the news, can there really be such a thing as an innocent Muslim?

Fear itself. The patriotic fervor being raised to an ever-louder crescendo. The anti-Muslim sentiment. The paranoia.

This is what I'm afraid of. I pray a lot these days. May Allah help us all.