Is it just a coincidence that democracy as we imagine it seems be getting sand kicked in it’s face when the economy goes south, or is it just a legacy of Bush appointees? I wrote Faith, in part, to examine the challenge of having faith in a people, country or form of government in the face of actions that go against human decency. Lately it seems like the news is attacking such faith full force.

The Supreme Court lately has been the deadliest battleground in this assault. Though they vacated the man’s sentence, the Court refused to extend the right to free counsel for those who are facing jail time if the case is in civil court. Why did they vacate the sentence? Because without a lawyer, the guy wasn’t informed of any of his rights and the state didn’t even investigate his claim (he said he couldn’t afford to make his back child support payments). In other words, this guy (who sounds like a douchebag, but still) was sentenced to up to a year in jail without anyone showing him the forms he needed or even finding out what his income was. But we don’t think we need to make sure he has counsel?

Naive as I am, I had no idea people could be sentenced to jail through civil court — I assumed that if a defendant did not pay or fulfill his court-mandated duties, he or she would then be charged with some crime before imprisonment. How is this any different than debtor’s prison? Yes, the Court said that judges need to make sure there are alternatives so that defendants know their rights, but if you were facing imprisonment, wouldn’t you want representation?

How about the man held for 16 days, under enemy-of-the-state conditions, as a material witness, despite the fact that he was never intended to serve as a witness? Or the recent renewal of the Patriot Act surveillance? Or more locally, a woman here in Rochester who was arrested for standing in her own yard?

It feels like this goes beyond the law enforcement and military rationalizations made following 9/11. This has to do with power, and I think the real correlation here isn’t just the economy or the Bush appointees. In fact, I think those two factors are just symptoms of a greater disease — the spreading gap between the wealthy and the not-wealthy. As the rich get richer, they get more powerful in overt and more subtle ways. And to give power a pretty spin, it’s being cast as “responsibility.” Thus if you question power, you’re being irresponsible. For those of us who feel that speaking our minds in a democratic society is the truly responsible act, it feels like the environment is just getting worse.

I just saw Limitless this week, the terrific movie with Bradley Cooper as a writer who is blocked both in his novel and his life. Later I wondered if were maybe a sign that I’m on the right path with writing when I was shocked to hear the character think, after taking a drug that boosts creativity and finishing his novel in only four days, that he wouldn’t be content with just writing — he had to move on to bigger things.

What?! Can I just weep a little here? If I could write like that, the bad guys would have had to pry the pills out of my cold, dead hands.

Having nothing to do with the movie, but everything to do with jealousy, my husband — an iPhone developer — got the Beta release of iOS 5. Whimper, whimper. Can I have some, please?