A few things Kinzinger forgot to mention. In addition to the loss of electricity and running water, there would be no working toilets. Just sit with that thought a minute.
No air conditioning, either, which would be devastating across the South. Up north, the lack of heating in wintertime would be just as bad. Apart from military casualties, many millions of people - of all parties and persuasions - would be suffering and starving across the nation.
Also, there would be no front line, as in the wars we read about in history books. There would be numerous fronts and areas of conflict; and no safe place "behind the lines" anywhere.
But just exactly what army would be fighting what army? Think about that a moment. The rightwing boys show up with all their cool army gear and guns . . . and who shows up on the other side?
A moment's reflection shows that this whole idea of civil war is just a gung-ho fantasy - which, left unchecked, could become, God forbid, an excuse for wholesale manslaughter.
It is certainly a symptom of unreasoning hatred, not human decency, and certainly not Christianity: Remember the One who said, "Put your sword away. He who lives by the sword will die by the sword."
Much more likely, though hardly less horrible, would be for the federal authorities to find some flimsy excuse to declare a National Emergency and suspend the Constitution, the courts, and all state and local governments not directly subordinate to military rule from Washington. The few pockets of resistance that might spring up here or there would quickly be put down by military patrols, which are already occurring in some cities.
So no need for a war, which would disppoint the rank and file, but too bad. Life would go on and profits continue to fill the coffers of the ultra-wealthy. Which was only to be expected.
Let us hope that these dire situations never arise, and that all this stupid talk is just stupid talk. I have to believe that cooler heads and good sense will in time show us the way out of this dark tunnel. Please God.
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4 comments:
Perhaps societies, like all living things, have an expiration date. They just become unable to sustain youth, vibrancy, growth, development, equilibrium and vision.
I'm not sure there is an expiration date, but certainly societies do grow and change over the long term - for good or ill - and I suppose their ability to change determines their longevity.
Look at England, for example - I have some familiarity with their history. The monarchy has been in place for a thousand years now (counting from William the Conqueror, 1066), but the government and the society have been through many, many changes. But compared to the rest of Europe, the English seem to have had a genius for self-government that enabled them to grow and adapt well. Their history to 1776 is also our history, and we inherited that capacity for self-government, which has held up well -- until recently.
At the moment, there don't seem to be many countries of the world that are adapting well - the general trend is toward idolatry of rightwing dictators and government by thuggery or theocracy or both. Why that is such a widespread phenomenon at this point in time, I don't know. Perhaps the historians of the future will be able to sort out the trees from the forest - if any "trees" are left to count. But this old man doesn't want to see the horror show that this movie is turning into.
L'avidité de pouvoir et de richesse de quelques-uns et leur croyance qu'ils sont supérieurs à tous :(
Même les grandes civilisations de l'histoire avaient des pieds d'argile.
-Beau Mec à Deauville
D'accord. Je n'ai jamais pense que je vais voir l'emboulement de notre civilisastion - mais il me semble que c'est en train aujourdhui. Quel douleur!
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