September 11, 2001. That date is self-explanatory to the majority of Americans. I use that date now simply as a point of reference. Using your own personal experiences, look at how our society has changed. What is your recollection of a time prior to 9/11? Take an honest look at conditions today? No matter your race, sex, religion, political persuasion or any other classification you prefer, the United States of America has changed.
OK, the collective response I just heard in my head was … “Well, duh!”
Granted, things are always changing. Regardless of what happened on 9/11, changes still would have occurred. We will never truly understand where we, as a nation, would be without the 9/11 attack upon our country. Again, I want to remind you that 9/11 is just a reference point. For those that remember the atmosphere immediately after the 9/11 attack, there was a sense of unity and national patriotism. No matter how you classified yourself we were all Americans.
A united America can never be defeated. I believe that statement to be true with every fiber of my being. As most people will attest, there are elements in the world that would love to see America defeated. I am not talking about a military defeat but the complete downfall of our nation. I believe we can only be truly defeated from within. Without evoking the multitude of conspiracy theories, I believe there is an underbelly of our society that desires our complete collapse as a free country. To what outcome, I could only guess.
When, if ever, after 9/11 did you notice divisions start to form. Were divisions noticed locally? Was it within your city or state? Was it on a national scale? Today you see divisions all over the place. Any honest review of the condition of our country should reveal some division. There are racial divisions, political divisions, religious divisions … etc. ad nauseam!
Again, the collective response I heard in my head was … “DUH!”
I understand there were divisions prior to 9/11. If you look back far enough you may recognize periods of time in America that resemble today's political and social conditions. That, in part, is one point I am trying to convey. The aphorism by George Santayana is very applicable, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". I believe we have educated American students to a level of historical ignorance. I am playing with my words. I don’t mean that American students are more ignorant now than at any other time in history. However, I would like to crunch the numbers on that issue. I mean that American students are not being taught the significant lessons that our forefathers learned. Whether the lessons were learned from American history or lessons learned from other failed nations or societies. American students have a lack of knowledge and understanding of history. I believe this is by design.
Our founding fathers gave us a pretty solid constitution. The amendment system is the method given by which we may make changes to the constitution. This system requires consent by the people and is difficult to achieve if one wishes radical change. If you manage to produce generation after generation of students who have a true lack of historical knowledge, you can dupe them into just about anything.
Imagine if our judicial system was infiltrated with politically influenced judges who decided to interpret our laws, not by the letter of the law, but how they socially feel it should be interpreted? Imagine a political system where the politician is a career choice instead of a time of service to the people. Imagine two rival political parties who constantly maneuver to gain power over the other party to the detriment of the people. Imagine two rival political parties who hold loyalty to the party over loyalty to the county (and the people). Imagine a system where a politician can become a multimillionaire by receiving money from corporations and special interest groups if they vote a specific way. Imagine if the government machine, the bureaucracy and the media was infected with a majority of people from just one of those rival political parties.
Does any of that sound vaguely familiar? Now, imagine all of that with a population of young voting age adults who have no concept of history. This voting block could be easily manipulated by social media and mainstream media. Remember that “underbelly of society” I mentioned? Imagine if they managed to work their way into the system somewhere. Maybe they got involved with the judiciary, or the bureaucracy, or even as elected officials. Maybe they only held influence from the special interest angle. Maybe the worst possible scenario has been achieved and they have infected the government and the media at all levels even down to the local municipalities. The control and influence they could wield over such a pliable voting block would be immeasurable
This is really starting to sound like a great conspiracy theory story line. I believe the reality of it all is even worse.
I know this is getting convoluted!
Worse yet, I have a few more layers to through at you.
Throughout American history there have been pockets in time and locations where the police have earned a poor reputation. The 1920’s in Chicago, Al Capone owned the police and corruption ran amok. President Herbert Hoover established the National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement to investigate crime related to prohibition in addition to policing tactics in the 1930’s. The Civil Rights Era of the 1960’s was fraught with violent and destructive riots. Aggressive dispersion tactics, such as police dogs and fire hoses, against individuals in peaceful protests were common. The Newark riots in 1967 that left 26 dead were the catalyst that led President Lyndon B. Johnson to organize the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders to investigate the causes of these major riots and police response. The point here is that there has never been a national organized uprising against the police like I see today.
To further complicate the police issue, did you know that the government, and specifically law enforcement, does not have any duty to protect the general public? According to a 2005 ruling from the SCOTUS, the government doesn’t have a duty to protect you even if you’ve obtained a court issued restraining order. You might assume this is a new, landmark decision. However, it has long been the court’s stance that, essentially, the American people are responsible for their own personal safety. A 1989 decision, DeShaney v. Winnebago County, held that the failure by county social service workers to protect a young boy from a beating by his father did not breach any substantive constitutional duty. Going back to 1981, (Warren v. District of Columbia) a federal court of appeals found the District of Columbia and the Metro Police Department held the same lack of responsibility to the people.
How many of you have I totally confused? I am terrible at coming to a conclusion. Where am I going?
OK, 9/11 is just a point of reference in time. Look back than and compare to where we are now. Look at how radical our society has changed. Look at the divisions all across our country. Look at how vehemently one side hates the other. Rational debate is dead. I purposefully avoided the issue of a generation of people desensitized to violence. The fingertip access to actual videos of violent crimes, terrorist bloodshed and social media broadcasts of crimes played out in real time before the viewer has caused irreversible harm. That debate would go on far too long for me to adequately cover. Look at the growing organized distrust of law enforcement. Reflect upon the fact that the government is not responsible for protecting the general public from common criminals, rapists, mass murderers and terrorists. Then, ask yourself why do so many government proposed solutions involve limiting the general public’s access to firearms? Remember our constitution and the amendment process. Pay special note to our 2nd amendment and remember the court’s stance that, essentially, the American people are responsible for their own personal safety. Add in to the mix a generation of poorly educated young adults and teens who were never properly taught history so they don’t understand the purpose of the 2nd amendment. This same block of voters is easily manipulated by a one-sided media blitz telling them firearms are the evil to end all evil. Firearms should be eliminated and anyone who opposes this concept is evil as well. Have you ever noticed that one side of this argument is always referring to the other as Nazis or Hitler? The main reason they can get away with such outlandish comments is because their audience is so poorly educated in the historical truth.
I believe that the “underbelly of society” wants to totally disarm the American populace. They have chipped away at the 2nd amendment. The only amendment, I might add, the founding fathers specifically said shall not be infringed. They have tried judicial activist judges and corrupt politicians to dismantle the 2nd amendment to no avail. Now they have educated our youth into virtual stupidity so they can remove the 2nd amendment altogether or pass unconstitutional law that would severely limit access to firearms. Again, to what end? I could only guess.
I would like to add a link to a story I find especially disturbing. It goes hand in hand with this convoluted theory.
http://www.wnd.com/2018/06/up-next-1970s-style-bombings-warns-progressive/