Citizen in the middle

Army troops from Fort Riley, Kan. listen to President Bush deliver a speech about the war on terror Monday at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan.

There's something strange about this photo. Something haunting. Dozens of young faces in a sea of camouflage. Smack in the middle, one young man dressed in suit and tie. Who is he? Why is he here?

President Bush is explaining his terrorist surveillance program. His enemies call it warrantless snooping and domestic spying. Don't listen to them, he tells his audience. I've got legal experts, key lawmakers and the Supreme Court on my side. Listen to me. Trust me.

Trust is something earned. In my line of work, an audience trusts a performer who delivers the goods with integrity, respect and competence. The performer needs to be a truth teller and she needs to guard her audience's privacy. Like a doctor, lawyer, minister -- an artist is working in the realm of human vulnerability. Audience + performer + trust brings participants to an open, protected place where new thought and ideals flourish. I can't ask my listeners to trust me with their guts until I prove myself worthy.

I think about the photo. The soldiers may be bound for Iraq, the land our country attacked over a weapons-of-mass-destruction mirage. A land of constant sorrow. The civilian in the middle is being called up for active duty now too, on the home front. His commander in chief requires his loyalty. He gets to keep his civvies, his stateside address, personal computer, telephone. But the government needs to monitor his email and phone calls to make sure he's a loyal citizen soldier. All his leader wants him to sacrifice is his privacy.

Army soldier + citizen soldier + commander in chief plus or minus trust? There's something strange about this picture. Something haunting.