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Posts Tagged → muttering

Think you’re nuts? You’re in good company

Lots of Americans wonder just how normal they are. Yes, we are told constantly that normal is relative, and while that’s not true, it is true that lots of us are nuts.

Want proof?

Go food shopping. Bring a long list of items. Start in the fruit section and end at the other end of the store, probably the dairy aisle. About half way through you’ll be muttering to yourself, trying to figure out what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.

Listen carefully. Lots of others around you are also thoughtfully contemplating being lost amidst the richness. They, too, are quietly muttering.

By the time you are three quarters done, people have given up any pretense of quiet. People at the end of their shopping list are outright talking out loud to themselves. Not even trying to hide it.

Living the iPhone lifestyle leaves most of us blathering fools, struggling to connect the myriad dots we’ve happily forced upon our otherwise easier lives. Dots of the kids, dots for meals, dots for significant dates, and dots for the food items we went shopping for.

Take heart. You’re not alone.

A special note on the other insanity, this one a political and cultural craziness justifying violence against peaceful political opponents who merely assemble to hear a political candidate they like speak.

It’s hypocrisy to blame the victim. But here it is, masquerading as news in most mainstream media outlets.

This insanity is new to America but old to Europe and other countries. We’ve seen it in South American countries wracked by corruption and government failure. We’ve seen it in the Middle East the past few years. We’ve seen it in Weimar Germany.

None of the other examples of political street violence bode well for where America is or will end up. At a certain point the Trump supporters will rally and defend themselves. At a certain point bystanders will come to their aid, with weapons.

Hillary and Bernie have not discouraged their followers from committing violence. Instead they’ve poured gas on the fire. It’s terrifying. It’s hard not to feel like we are watching the end of America. Where this all goes is anyone’s guess. Violence is both wrong and unsustainable. Human nature can only turn so many cheeks before the desire to self defend sets in.

Much more to be said about this insanity posing as political dissent. But let’s just leave it at this: Be careful what you start. When that ball gets rolling, there’s no turning back. America is the best nation ever, but it’s  still subject to human flaws. Our Constitution did not find a way to stop people from committing crimes. It merely placed the power in the hands of The People, and if that power comes from the end of a gun, look out.