In a guest column in today's News & Observer, Parker Poe's Catharine Biggs Arrowood comments on the similarities and differences between the recent firestorm that erupted concerning the legal representation of detained terror suspects and one that occurred during World War II.  She says that the situation "provides a fresh reminder of two essential truths: Our democracy is only as robust as the commitment of individuals to act on our loftiest ideals yet our commitment to these ideals is most fragile in times of national peril."