The decline of America

Almost four hundred years ago, the pilgrim fathers set sail for the New World to find a home where they could freely practice their religion without interference from the state. Today, nearly half of the population of the country they helped to found believe that the government should restrict the civil rights of Muslims:

The survey found 44 percent favored at least some restrictions on the civil liberties of Muslim Americans...

The survey showed that 27 percent of respondents supported requiring all Muslim Americans to register where they lived with the federal government. Twenty-two percent favored racial profiling to identify potential terrorist threats. And 29 percent thought undercover agents should infiltrate Muslim civic and volunteer organizations to keep tabs on their activities and fund-raising.

The good news is that 48% of respondents said that people's civil liberties should not depend on their religion, so I guess the spirit of America isn't quite dead yet.