Wag the Dog

This morning on the way to breakfast, Sharon and I were talking about how much the world and our country has changed in such a short amount of time, and how dangerous it's really becoming.

Every day that goes by, this country seems to be returning to the time of political turmoil of the Vietnam era. We're in the middle of a war disputed from the start, quickly escalating out of control. We're in the midst of social change where discrimination of Gay and Lesbian rights are becoming Constitutional issues. We've got an America that has become polarized by a President who promised to bring this country together.

I wonder what it will take before the situation within this country becomes so bad that people start taking to the streets. I think it might take something as dramatic as a military draft to act as the catalyst. Seeing people being sent off to war and coming back in body bags against their will would really make it quite clear how far we've strayed. What then though? Do people take to the streets protesting this war, this administration, this government? Yes, probably for a while, until those activists start being arrested and labeled terrorists and traitors. This might sound extreme, but don't forget that it wasn't that long ago that Joseph McCarthy sent hundreds of people off to jail as traitors to the state under a different banner, one called Communism.

If anyone thinks that any of this is out of the realm of possibility, they're clearly not concious of their surroundings. This country has headed down a road that has lead us to a world full of animosity towards the United States. Don't believe me? Try traveling to another country and say that you're American, see what kind of reaction you get. Believe me, things are going to get worse before they get better. These are interesting times indeed.

-s