There have always been social and cultural issues within this nation. Whenever you construct a nation out of immigrants with distinct cultures, and historical bias you will always run into conflict. Perhaps in my wisdom gathering maturity I am becoming more attuned to the signs and symptoms of some of these issues. One of the things that is rolling through my head is, as this administration moves their socialist agenda forward how will society react?
Today we see this article in NYC. A young man with a group of youths is discovered in a stairwell at 0230. When confronted by authorities our young man rabbits. He is pursued, and he then draws a weapon and attempts to fire it a law enforcement. When the weapon malfunctions and he is being apprehended, his mother is heard encouraging him (or others) to shoot the cop.
In one camp you have the group like the above story mentions that is comfortable with social welfare, and the things that they need to do to survive. Let’s hypothetically expand that for a moment and include a broader population of those that “accept” social programs. What happens when authority steps in to say:
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“I am sorry Mrs. Jones, you will not be allowed to have the Chemo treatment that may extend your life for 5 more years. The government board has determined that we have to stop treatment”.
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After waiting in line for 10 hours and holding your little “number” in hand you hear: “The offices are closed now, please come back tomorrow and we might be able to help you with xyz”. This happens today with Immigration services.
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You hear: “Well folks I have good news and bad news. The good news is we have found a liver transplant for you. The bad news, is that even with all of the expediting that we can do to get the organ here and all of the approvals in place, and bump the procedures that are already scheduled the liver will no longer be viable by the time we are able to transplant it. There just isn’t time to get the paperwork done”.
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You hear: “Mr. Smith, I am afraid that your appendectomy will have to wait a few more hours. Congressman X’s son broke his hand, and his procedure to put the pins in and set the bones is going to delay things”.
In the other camp you have the folks who oppose socialism. These have often been characterized as “the silent majority”. They include the folks who are attending “Tea Parties”, have an understanding of the US Constitution, and are becoming more vocal and visible. These are the folks who understand the need for enforcing existing laws, and repealing those that should no longer be on the books.
Within each of these broad classifications you have subgroups and cultures that have their own opinions about courses of action. Some of these take extreme points of views, and others take more moderate view points. But, the real question rolling around my brain is: What happens when the majority of both groups reach the breaking point, and this administration continues to ignore them?
A corollary question. What happens when an event occurs that is the focus flash point for a group and that flash point ignites the nation? What is that event? A food shortage? A fuel shortage? A power failure? A Rodney King type of incident? What happens when a percentage of law enforcement or the military see their “orders” as being in conflict with their oath?
I won’t even go down the road of what else might occur to either trigger an event, or compound the damage and duration of a flash point event.
The principles that founded this nation, and the way in which we have grown through the years leave us at a stage where there is no easy answer, and no silver bullet of a solution. There are however, courses of action that can steer us away from the dangers that our government seems to be steering us toward. But, those thoughts are food for another post.