Winston Churchill once said, "Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried."
I still believe Americans are better off than the citizens of almost any other country (except possibly Canada. And West Germany. And maybe Sweden). But we're sliding. I remember seeing that craptastic Kevin Costner movie, The Postman, and thinking "Americans revolting against their own government? Yeah. Right." And I recently heard someone say that "Nobody would take to the streets here. They might miss an episode of American Idol..."
That's probably right. We're too soft. Right now.
But I'm starting to wonder if there's a bottom, if there's a limit. What would it take to have Americans snap and go all anarchy stylin'? Say Congress dicks around until Social Security finally goes tits up, Wall Street fucks us again, gas is at $10 a gallon, the rich/poor divide gets even more obscene, and partisanship in government gets so bad that the people's business stops completely (I mean completely, instead of just mostly, which is where we are now). Say all this stuff happens at nearly the same time.
Would I light a torch and grab a pitchfork? I really don't know. Would any of you? What's your limit? What's bad enough that you would accept the uncertainty of violent change over the crumbling and dysfunctional status quo?
I'd have to brush up on my gun skills, but...count me in.
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