The REAL Problem?
It can be argued that our country has "evolved" over time through a progression from "tribes" to "gangs".
When the Europeans arrived to these shores, driven by religious fervor, persecution, and greed, they were under the control of the crowned heads of Europe. In that part of the Americas that is now the United States, the original Founders were wealthy, Protestant, Anglo-Saxon, males who were white. We were concerned with slavery, "Indian" Wars and re-settlements, and territorial expansion. After our Civil War, white males who were not wealthy, or Protestant, began jockeying for acceptance and their share of power.
Between 1865 and 1965, parties, klans, factions, and gangs were assimilated into our government systems, at all levels. Political Parties eventually dominated and became the centers from which we ruled our politics and governments. These elements were dominated by white males. Non-whites and Jews were not assimilated during this period.
After World War II, blacks, other non-whites, and Jews began their assimilation, and, with the tremendous impact of technology in our media, (T.V.), the power of political parties declined. The elements that prevailed in gaining and holding power were largely ethnic factions or "gangs" caught up in the "backlash" of post-war assimilation of non-whites and Jews.
We're now at a point where the "gang" nature of our politics is becoming more visible and our politics are becoming more bitter and intractable. Over all of the time since our founding, the Presidency has been the ultimate objective for each political contest. The Presidency has remained in the hands of white males -- until the election of 2008.
Over the entire time since our founding, the Presidency has been feared as the seat of "tyrannical government". But, De Tocqueville found in 1830, a white "tyrannical majority" in power in this country! Our citizenry, however, has tended to fear "tyranny" only in the person of the holder of the Presidency; not some ruling majority (or minority). Since the election of 2012, we're faced with the contest of factions or "gangs" who are bitterly dead-locked in their quest for power. National election no longer settles power contests.
Frustrated in their efforts to un-seat the first non-white (that we know of) President, the factions have resorted to tactics that smell of "armed insurrection". These factions can be found in our state houses, federal branches of government, and in our city streets.
Our highly techno-media "talking heads" make large sums of money stirring up anxiety and pitting factions and "gangs" against each. Drenched over all of this is a putrid type of 21st century racism.
For the first time in our history, we have expanded this process beyond our shores to include our economic and political dealings around the world. Such is the "stew" we're in; with a "gun-running element" growing richer every day by arming the "gangs". Death, due to gun violence, is mounting every day in every part, and class-level, of our society. A new sense of "Community" must be devised. Religion, however, may prove to be a significant part of the problem; more than a part of any solution. A lot of people are dying from being caught in the "cross-hairs" of some religion.
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