问责制以及个人责任已被美国政府的窗户赶走。美国选民也退位了。只要大多数美国人能够拥有麦当劳的驱动器，听iPod并观看美国偶像，他们似乎并不在乎该国的国家安全机构被疏忽。面包和马戏团。罗马人有对的。只要人们有食物和娱乐，他们就不会对自己的国家的侵蚀太多。
(Accountability, as well as personal responsibility, had been chucked out the window of American government. It also had been abdicated by the American voter. As long as most Americans could have their McDonald's drive-throughs, listen to their iPods, and watch American Idol, they didn't seem to care how negligently the nation's national security apparatus was being run. Bread and circuses. The Romans had it right. As long as people had food and fun, they didn't care much about the erosion of their nation.)