I'm not afraid of anthrax. I'm not afraid of small pox. I'm not afraid of any infectious disease that ends in an X. They mean nothing to me. If, for some strange reason, I end up meeting these deadly X's, I will laugh in their faces. I will slap them around and shake them up and ask them, "What the hell can you do to me, you little freak spore!"

Of course, the spores'll probably have the last laugh on that one, but why should I be frightened? Why should I think that someone is out to get me? Is there someone scouring the Albuquerque phone book thinking, "I've got to pick the right victim!" and ending up with his finger on my phone number? If I believe that's going to happen, I have a pretty good shot at winning the lottery this month.

I don't think the Taliban will fall until the last one lets his circa-1875 rifle fall from his dead hand. Until that they will taunt and laugh and fall on the floor guffawing about the U.S. sending a few hundred elite troops in to do covert sweeps.

I don't think there will be a victory against terrorism. Fighting a conventional war against people who videotape tirades behind large rocks is not going to work. Doesn't anyone remember Red Dawn? Remember Lea Thompson holding onto that grenade until she saw the whites of the eyes of the enemy? We have a generic face for our enemy: Osama bin Laden, sometimes with gray in his beard and sometimes not. But knowing this face does not guarantee victory or an end to this "new war."

Secretary of State Colin Powell says the fighting will by over by winter, by the time Ramadan begins. Here's my question: Why is the U.S. the only nation in the world without a month long vacation for everyone? I'm sure there is a lot of prayer going on during Ramadan, but really it's the rest after the harvest. Work is done for a while, lets all rest and thank God (Allah) for getting through another year. We get two days off for Thanksgiving. And the second day is the biggest shopping day of the year--so obviously we don't know how to relax.

I can feel the intrusion already. I can see how this is going.

I read an article in Newsweek about how everyone in Israel loves the security guards in their country. They gladly hand their sacks and purses and fanny packs over to guards at every building to sift through and pilfer. Everyone in the country can name the top military brass. Everyone is glued to the evening news, which runs in prime time rather than insipid sit-coms and doctor shows. Everyone knows that a small bag from McDonald's could contain a small bomb, and everyone appreciates not having any privacy.

This description is not America. It's not the one I grew up with or the one I want to live in. I get a little peeved when I have to make like Jesus for security guards at punk shows. I hate road blocks and cops with their hands on their guns while they're talking to me. I don't want to fly--not because I'm afraid someone is going to try hijack the plane, but because I'm now guaranteed a lot of searches and a lot of sitting or standing around waiting for the plane to be safe to board. To me, a bag from McDonald's is trash--nothing more.

A lot of people died on September 11, 2001. Most of them were Americans. And most of them enjoyed the life we have here. Their deaths should not signal a new America of stunted civil liberties and escalation to a police state. This is contrary to how they lived their lives and to how we Americans want and need to live so we can still love America.

Asking for sweeping changes in wire-tapping and electronic surveillance laws will only do harm. We should feel that writing an e-mail to a friend will get to our friend and no one else. And if I make a bad joke with one of the "code words" in the big list, will my harmless ramblings suddenly become suspected terrorist activity?

I will not wear rubber gloves to open my mail. I will not wash my hands after handling junk mail. I will not feed the paranoia.

Whenever a crisis happens in our country, inevitably someone will mention what our fore fathers would have thought or done. Almost as inevitable as asking What Would Jesus Do? But lately, there has been no mention of what "All men are created equal" means. No question of what that group of guys in pre-U.S. British colonies would have thought about what is happening.

Maybe it's because the answer would be counter to what our government is trying to do in the name of anti-terrorism. Back in the day, our forefathers lived in a police state (in cities anyway) where any talk about rebellion against the crown could be cause for death. America is what it is today because the rebellion happened anyway and was successful. Not because they sat around and thought, "Well, I guess it's okay if the Red Coats want to seize our land, rape our wives and eat all our food."

Let's all stay Americans, not prisoners in our own country.

Matt Worley hears strange clicks and beeps when he picks up the phone.