Finally, somebody gets it right.

Too late, but still. It's Zbigniew Brzezinski, writing in yesterday's Washington Post.

The "war on terror" has created a culture of fear in America....

The damage these three words have done -- a classic self-inflicted wound -- is infinitely greater than any wild dreams entertained by the fanatical perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks when they were plotting against us in distant Afghan caves.

Exactly so. Think about it. Four stolen airplanes - they didn't even have to pay rent - a couple of dozen guys, and an entire freakin' "superpower" implodes. Citizens hide under their collective bed while their Constitution is shredded, their rights trampled, their treasury looted and their future mortgaged. Citizens applaud.

Oh yeah. Feeling a little cynical this morning. I'd be downright flat-out depressed if it weren't for one guy whose name I can't pronounce and a bunch of high school kids I don't know from Wilton, CT.

The kids - students in the Theater Arts class - decided that instead of YA iteration of "Brigadoon" this year they'd do a play of their own devising, a series of dramatic readings, words written by the soldiers of Iraq. The New York Times picks up the story:

“In Wilton, most kids only care about Britney Spears shaving her head or Tyra Banks gaining weight,” said Devon Fontaine, 16, a cast member. “What we wanted was to show kids what was going on overseas.”

But even as 15 student actors were polishing the script and perfecting their accents for a planned April performance, the school principal last week canceled the play, titled “Voices in Conflict,” citing questions of political balance and context.

One more movie about a clueless principal hiding under his bed coming up. "Political balance and context" as the good grown-ups of Wilton, CT, see it, it turns out, equates to Joe Lieberman. Looks like a Democrat Independent, votes like a jackass.

The good news is, there are several independent theater companies showing interest in performing the students' play. I hope it winds up on Broadway. And if it does, I hope they comp the principal a ticket. The guy could use a little education, I think.

(The Wilton High class's web site is difficult to load - bandwidth maxed, no doubt - but if you keep trying the link below long enough to get it you can read their play.)

Links: Washington Post, New York Times, Wilton High School Theater Arts Class