THE UNITED STATES:

 A NATION DIVIDED CANNOT STAND. 

PART ONE:  

HOW DID IT COME TO THIS?

This is Hard: 

This is hard. This is hard for me. In my head, I've started this discussion over and over again. I made the statement I was going to finally dive into the issue of the US's stability, and that started my mind racing. I've always told people, my intent was and is to inform. I desire to talk to people about the issues that might threaten their day to day lives, their quality of life. I've worked to watch the globe asymmetrically; to look for the issues worthy of explanation. My career was based upon reacting to and mitigating those events that would threaten the nation that I served. In the early years, I never challenged why my government tasked us to do. As the years went by, it became almost impossible not to question some of the events we were involved in, but I was a professional. I was a professional NCO and I was a professional officer. At the end of the day, my duty was to follow orders, accomplish the task given me. 

I came home in 2002 and stepped from the world of command into the world of strategic operations. What I did and where it took place is not important to this topic. Over the course of the next few years, my understanding of how the nation truly worked grew and grew immensely. From the world of Defense Support to Civilian Authority / DSCA as it was known then, to Continuity of Government, COG, my reality began to change, and by realty, I probably mean my perception. My job had me interacting with a segment of society I virtually knew nothing about; politicians. You see, I avoided rotations to DC for 25 yrs. When I was told I was, "damaging" my career, I politely agreed as I went back to what I loved; command. That changed in 2002/ 3. My life became a daily journey into the world of local, state and federal "politics". How could the military support civilian events? How could the military / Department of Defense, leverage the resources of the largest federal agency in the nation, without stepping on the law of the land and more importantly, upsetting politicians? Terrorism, hurricanes, borders, pandemics, floods, fires, earthquakes, it seemed I was tossed into every scenario possible. What could "we" do and what could "we" not do? Everyone, at every level of government, had their own perception of DSCA. Just when I thought I had seen it all, the largest, eye-opening concept of all pulled me in. COG! To say I was ignorant of what the COG was truly all about was an understatement. Continuity of Government, the US government. How does that work? Think you know? Have you read about issues like, " National Essential Functions, FEFs? Have you heard of a place called, " Mount Weather"? Hollywood and conspiracy nuts. They aren't even close. In 2005, my career and my world changed, and with that, I will move onto a more important discussion. 

My exposure to the politics of the nation was both educational and alarming. My career was built around sacrifice, honor, and duty. These were not the categories I found myself working within. I am and was a quick learner, and learning was just what I did. How to "they" do their business? How do "they" approach events that might lead to a crisis? Can "they" ever, effectively work together? Do they even want to? After about a year of "supporting" them, I came to my first hard reality. Their sense of duty, honor, loyalty was very different than mine. Some operated with good intentions, but it became clear, the ultimate goal was reelection, moving up, gaining power, looking better, smatter than the competition or even your friends. Yes, after the first year of my journey into DSCA, I was convinced. The leadership I was dealing with had very different goals and just about the time I was truly becoming disenfranchised, I was pulled into COG. Someone was looking out for me. Someone had been watching me. I was good at what I did, but those I did it with, well, it was a very different world than mine.

COG showed me one thing. If it all went wrong, terribly wrong, the nation had a "plan". To most people, even the ones in uniform, COG was a relic of the Cold War. It was a process based upon the doomsday issue of nuclear war. Let me keep this part of the story simple. COG is much more than just preparation for a nuclear war. ( By the way. I dove into this COG issue when I decided to write my book on the events of the next World War).  Long story short, COG restored my faith that someone inside the federal government was actually focused on what was good for the nation. Yes, COG and the task that process handed me, saved my desire to stay in the service. 

So, there you have it. That is the scene setter I had to provide. That's the story of how I began to pay attention to what was taking place in the nation. My efforts were moved from overseas warfighter to, figuring out how to keep political leaders from failing in a time of crisis, even when they seemed focused on something other than the security of the nation, state, community. Side Note: One point I have to make. The order of focus was simple to see. Locals typically, not always, but typically, worried about their community. States worried about the state of the State. I guess that's why we are a Republic fist! Lastly, federal figures seemed consumed with how events may impact them individually. My opinion? Yes, but the data I have to back that up would fill this blog site for months to come. 

History: 

I've painted a picture of leadership that seems out of touch. So-called, leaders who place their careers and party first. It was alien to me and I am the first one to admit I may have seen these leaders through my own glasses. Has the US seen a time when leadership was not all about themselves? Honestly, my bias showing again, has the US ever not seen such a period? FDR. A hero to the Democratic party. A man who openly challenged the authority of the US Supreme Court. A man who realized his vision for the nation was more important than the nation's legal system. Look, the truth is, US history is stuffed with examples just like FDR and that plays right into where I am heading. 

For the sake of argument, let's assume my opinion of political leadership is valid. If history tells us it's always been this way, then why am I taking the time to talk about something I truly didn't wish to address? My answer is this. History is exactly what its name indicates, it's "history". Yes, yes, I know the old saying, "if we don't learn from history, we are bound to repeat it", or something like that. To me, it seems like we have been repeating ourselves for well over 150 years. Has the public grown accustom to the hollow words of political leaders? Where do they rank on a national survey of jobs people admire? I bet you know the answer. Nothing to worry about here right? Wrong! 

Times change. Beliefs and opinions change. Perceptions change. What was once considered just another example of the same old thing, could be transforming into a very.....very dangerous event. How many times, if you read my blog, have you heard me address the issue of Social Media? How often have I made reference to a world of billions of people able to communicate without government filters like the media, and do so in the time frame of seconds, not weeks or days? Has the concept of social awareness taken on a dramatic change? More importantly, has the concept of constant communications become a weapon? Can a society slip into a state of near madness simply because of nonstop information? the world has changed and those changes are not based on old "history". people are drowning in information, information that is almost always useless to their daily lives. If I am correct, and I say I am, then just how destabilizing can this change become? Before you contemplate that answer, let me give you one more ingredient. Let me make my last point in this post. 

Spoiled: 

Just how spoiled are most of the people in the US? How is it possible to protest over being poor when you are 100 lbs overweight? How many people in the US have worked in a land where 300 calories a day was a feast, a feast you only received perhaps every other day? Have you ever seen children sleeping in a massive pile just to keep warm? A pile that is visible because it's on the sidewalk of a major street in a major city? I have. Who in this country, that likes to bitch...pardon my language, but this topic gets me going, has witnessed dead bodies in the open with people just walking by? I could go on and on, but let me make a more profound statement. The world has over 7 BILLION people and over 3 BILLION of them are trying to stay alive, trying to find a meal, trying to sleep without fearing they may be murdered. When was the last time anyone in the US had to navigate the rubble of a city completely destroyed knowing there was absolutely no one coming to help? By the way, if you bring up 9-11, you have no idea what I am talking about. Intitled, demanding and uninformed; the typical US citizen who feels compelled to toss trashcans in front of intersections because they are outraged. Massive communications with people who truly are suffering and a spoiled percentage of the population, that my friends is a recipe for disaster. Oh, wait. I forgot, poor to nonexistent leadership. You have to add that to the formula. 

Okay. Part One. " How did we get here"? This has been my scene setter. Over the next two days, I will post my followups. 

Part Two:  Can it really happen? Can the US fall into a real crisis? 

Part Three: What does the crisis look like? 

Not a pleasant topic. I know, and it's one I truly didn't want to address. The problem is, I am more and more convinced that repeating history is not going to lead to the same old results. The US is reaching a dangerous level of instability, social divide. It's time to address the structure of this pending crisis and what needs to happen. More to come.