Reestablishing an American consensus for an honest, reality-based policy of national defense and domestic liberty requires the integrity to refrain from exploiting the twin passions of fear and hope.

But this is the challenge we must overcome if we are to avoid endless war and preserve for our children a free and open society.

This will be difficult. The cult of empire is propped up by a ubiquitous and effective spin machine. Megastar media surrogates saturate the airways with their 24/7 presence. They advance a creed of conquest that confuses the strength to defend the nation with the pursuit of world domination. Their message thrives on the demonization of both foreign power and domestic dissent. While they peddle a creed that holds in contempt both the actual exercise of liberty and the practice of authentic faith, these false prophets cloak their message with a veneer of moral and patriotic values. And they have infected our culture with their audacious claim that their values reflect the values of America. The challenge of properly reframing these issues is amply demonstrated by the 22 percent of Americans who say they rely on talk radio as their primary source of news.