Alea jacta est - the die is cast.

Julius Caesar uttered this phrase in 49 BCE as he and his warriors advanced on Rome, knowing full well his actions were irrevocable, no matter the consequences. At the time, Caesar was the governor of present-day France. Two years later, through military acumen and thievery, he ruled the Roman Empire.

Caesar knew how to be a dictator. He ignored domestic policy as he embraced warfare and territorial expansion, all in the name of power. He quashed social agendas he did not agree with, his opponents murdered. And he knew all he needed in the end was a good army and the money to pay them with.

If the current American landscape sounds remotely familiar, it's by design. Like the Romans who walked headlong into oblivion while their nation consumed itself, the average American knows next to nothing about the crimes the United States is perpetrating in their name around the world. Even at this late date, with George W. Bush's WMD claims stamped into the ground, people actually believe that Iraq was capable of launching a devastating offensive on our shores.

These are the people that will nod in agreement that Spain's new socialist turn will, according to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL), "appease terrorists." And while the United States legitimizes terrorism through its aggressive posture toward Muslim nations, Spain is casting a die of a different kind — one that could bring an end to American hegemony around the world.

Ironically, one of the catalysts was a deadly terror strike in the nation's capital.

The Madrid bombing was the worst terrorist act in both Spain and in Western Europe. People around the world have christened it "Europe's 9/11." Over two hundred people killed or maimed. With an outpouring of sympathy for Spaniards, citizens rallied not around a drumhead, but around the proposition that maybe the government's agenda was wrong, and that peace, not bloodshed, was the answer.

96 percent of those who voted wanted a party that is dedicated to bringing troops home and butting out of international conflicts that do not concern them. As a result, the conservative party was voted out in a landslide. It is the first government backing the war in Iraq to be voted out of office.

Rather than respond to violence with greater violence, Spain is taking the high road. And the American response is, of course, to lambaste and defame. Tell me, Mr. Hastert, how is it that Spain is appeasing terror with their bold decision?

Appeasement isn't turning a cheek when a foe delivers a blow. Appeasement is buying into the hysteria generated by a bomb or a breast and then enacting draconian laws that impinge on the very freedoms the terrorist want taken. Appeasement is Orange Alert. Appeasement is an FCC fine.

People are tired of bloodshed. They are tired of the government lying to them as their freedoms are stripped. They are weary of mind-numbing assaults on their sanity.

And that is why the people of Spain have voted for a party whose platform is peace. By distancing themselves from the paranoia and fear, the Spanish will once again live in a world aware that violence and evil exists, but not let it consume their lives.

The repercussions of this event are threefold. Aside from the obvious growing resentment for the war abroad, the vote shows that people can push out governments with interests contrary to the people they serve. It also highlights just how little of an option Americans have come election day.

Let's face it — America has burned its bridges. John Kerry's vaguely conspiratorial whisperings aside, it's not wild to suggest that foreign leaders are pissed with the current administration, and that they want change. Not only that, they're tired of being pencil-shuffling "yes men" to the American behemoth.

In case you hadn't noticed, the rest of the industrialized world is really chugging along right now. While China is the fastest growing nation in the world and the euro is becoming a smarter and smarter investment, American goods and currency are falling out of favor. Really, nobody needs America anymore.

So why put up with the American attitude? With Spain pulling out of the laughable Coalition of the Willing, other nations will finally find the spine to stand up to the United States. Remember when North Korea threatened a nuclear attack last year? A ballsy move, and indicative of the growing wave of foreign disinterest in the U.S.' silly saber rattling. After all, embargoes and sanctions have little effect if no one is buying your goods or listening to you. By polarizing the world against it, the United States is evaporating its economic base — or exporting it to India.

It's only a matter of time before the American government's obvious enslavement to big business alienates the world. And once the war of public opinion is over, this country is done.

The worst part, though, is that America doesn't even have the option to vote for change. Both Kerry and Bush represent the same bullshit. The candidates that actually have an ideology in step with the average American are quickly brushed aside for one silly quirk or are ignored altogether by a complicit media who's told who to cover.

Want a peacetime president? You certainly won't get one in Bush — aside from Iraq, he's invaded Afghanistan and Haiti, funded an overthrow of Venezuela and plans to conquer Syria and Iran with the same bogus charges he levied at Saddam. John Kerry fully supports Israel's actions in Palestine, so you can bet that area won't simmer down for the next four years.

In the end, as in Spain, it's up to the people to assert themselves. Don't be afraid to settle. If your government isn't doing its job — and remember, you pay them — get rid of it. Don't, and you're just as complicit in their crimes as your elected leaders.

Spain chose to keep its money and army safe. Granted, it's not what Caesar would do, but then, look at what happened to both him and Rome in the end.

Canon Fodder is a biweekly analysis of politics and society.