Being a hard-core fan of the X-Files, every night at ten o'clock I am notified of another diabolical governmental scheme to control our lives. I've come to realize that the show is more than just an action-packed science fiction thriller; it's a warning, meant to inform us of what our corrupt government is doing to us.

Last Sunday, I was made aware of one plot targeting me specifically. As a debater, I travel with my friends to a different hotel every weekend. We never took any notice of the Bibles sitting in every room. I guess we thought the Gideons put them there.

They didn't. I've learned that those Bibles are secret monitoring devices placed there by corrupt forces in government. Everything we do in those hotel rooms is seen by some guy at the CIA (and we thought nobody knew we stayed up until four watching late-night movies).

That's not all. The government controls every aspect of our lives. When we go to the dentist, they don't just put fillings in our teeth, they put in tracking devices, so wherever we go, they can find us. If any of you still think you're learning something at school, think again. All of that algebra your math teacher writes on the board is actually a subliminal message that tells you what to think.

There's more. Double Whoppers at Burger King just contain 32 grams of fat; the government is injecting chemicals to control our free thought. They abduct us and perform tests on us, mutating our bodies for their own selfish purposes. If anybody finds out, they're promptly "taken care of." I'll probably be killed just for writing this.

Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little. Actually, all of that stuff was a complete fabrication. I don't think the government cares what I do in my hotel room. I really doubt that I've ever been abducted. If anything, the government cares too little about what we learn at school. And Whoppers stop your heart, not your imagination.

But surprisingly enough, quite a few people would agree wholeheartedly with those first few paragraphs. To many people, our federal government is enemy number one. They feel no patriotism toward their government because they don't trust it.

Distrust of our leaders and our government is one of the biggest problems facing our nation. When the citizens of our nation don't trust the government that makes it run, they are reluctant to help make it prosper or fight to defend it. Our media should do everything it can to stop this phenomenon.

Unfortunately, the makers of shows like the X-Files are doing everything they can to feed public fear of authority. Why? Because it sells. People love the idea of secret tests and corruption. They don't like the government because it taxes them and makes rules, and they love the opportunity to go a step beyond that and distrust everything the government does.

Shows like the X-Files give them that opportunity. They give us a reason to fear the government that we already distrust. They don't think about the effect it has; they take the money and make more episodes.

We need to remember that shows like the X-Files are science fiction, not gospel truth. We should allow ourselves to be entertained, not carried away. Next time you go to the dentist or a fast-food restaurant, realize that although both may be hazardous to your health, you'll walk away with both your freedom and your imagination intact. ?