Americans cannot escape a certain responsibility for what is done in our name around the world. In a democracy, even one as corrupted as ours, ultimate authority rests with the people. We empower the government with our votes, finance it with our taxes, bolster it with our silent acquiescence. If we are passive in the face of America's official actions overseas, we in effect endorse them.
Mark Hertsgaard (2003). “The Eagle's Shadow: Why America Fascinates and Infuriates the World”, p.211, Farrar, Straus and Giroux