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You are at home with your five year-old, and suddenly notice he's playing with a book of matches he found. In fact, he's sitting on the carpet in front of you, about to light one. What do you do?

Perhaps you're at a friend's apartment; they had to run down the hall to talk to a neighbor and you're watching their five year-old. Same situation arises with the matches. Again, what do you do?

Then suppose you're visiting a friend at his apartment; you haven't seen him in awhile, and you're catching up. Without warning, he produces a cigarette lighter and sets fire to one of the sofa cushions. Aghast, you protest, but he tells you it's all right; he knows what he's doing. Then, tittering, he torches another cushion. What do you do then?

Concerning the children, obviously you take the matches away and sternly reprimand the child. In the case of the friend's offspring, you also inform them upon their return from the neighbor's place. Although the scenario with your adult friend may present more of a physical challenge, the solution is essentially the same, except that you subsequently contact parties better suited to handle an individual whose brain has spontaneously liquefied.

In none of these instances do you concern yourself with hurt feelings, the potential for a parent's anger at your having disciplined their child, your friend's absurd reassurance or his right to self-expression. Your responsibility to yourself and to those in the building who may perish when it becomes enveloped in flame supersede all of these.

So why do we accept from others the above rationalizations and allow the effective immolation of our nation and our society? If we resign this analogy to irrelevance since it is indeed metaphorical, we may be engaging in a grievous and potentially devastating self-deception.

It has been suggested by several prominent pundits of late that the thought processes of those on the far left may be everything from naively theoretical to dangerously unbalanced. In fairness, there are those on the far right of whom we might make the same claim, yet the difference lies in the fact that those in the press and entertainment industries -- two groups which have massive influence on American thought and culture -- fall overwhelmingly into the former category. Thus, it has become apparent to many such as myself that the threats we face have been understated and denied at our extreme peril.

The solution some have suggested may be considered severe at this juncture, but it is certainly no more so than distressing extrapolations of current trends that can be made based on history and geopolitical observations. The Alien and Sedition Act, passed in July 1798, authorized the president to deport any alien considered dangerous, even in peacetime, and made it a crime to publish "false, scandalous, and malicious writing" against government or government officials. This, and Article III of the Constitution, which addresses Aid and Comfort to the Enemy, are historical precedents for action that might be taken to penalize those who undermine our duly-elected officials' efforts in the War on Terror as well as incite people both at home and abroad against America.

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