Fear and loathing live on

A full 27 percent of Americans scare the hell out of me. That's the percentage of respondents in a recent Cornell University poll who said all Muslims should be required to register where they live with the federal government. Forty-four percent of respondents agreed that Muslims' civil liberties should be restricted in some way. That's right: These people think all Muslims, including millions of innocent, hard-working Americans, should be subject to constant government monitoring or be treated like second-
class citizens just because of their religious beliefs or skin color.

Not surprisingly, people who watch lots of sensationalistic television news were more likely than others to be petrified by fear of imminent terrorist attacks and to believe that police should lock up all of the dark-skinned people. Republicans and "highly religious" people were also more likely to call for limiting Muslims' liberties than Democrats and "less religious" people were.

Does anyone even pay attention to history anymore?