The person who sent pipe bombs to nine (as of this writing) of Trump's critics, whatever his/her motivation, is probably only the opening salvo in this latest episode of the Culture War. Trump's tweet this morning certainly suggests such a conclusion (see my comment on The Culture War Gets Real). The reality is that Trump divides, incites, aggravates, excites and encourages this kind of behavior from both extremes of the political spectrum. If this turns out to be the work of a Trump supporter, do any of us honestly believe that there aren't folks on the left who are capable of (and willing to engage in) the same kind of behaviors (remember the shooting at the Republican baseball practice)? We have entered a very dangerous time in the life of this republic, and I'm not trying to be cute when I use the term explosive in describing this new era! The kindling is stacked and ready - who will throw the match on the pile?
It's sad. We as taxpayers expend our resources protecting the homeland from outside terrorists, and yet we become self destructive because we've lost the ability to calmly discuss and to compromise in our own political processes. We label zealots from other ideologies as "terrorist", even as our own homegrown fanatics arise from the fringes to inflict damage upon the far more numerous middle of the road citizens.
ReplyDeleteThis is what happens in all power struggles. It's a fight to the death, ethics and morality be damned.
BB