THE UNITED STATES:

A NATION DIVIDED CANNOT STAND. 

PART TWO: 

CAN IT REALLY HAPPEN? 

Yesterday, I spelled out what I believe are the three main ingredients for a destabilizing environment to take hold. 

1. Poor political leadership, no, not Trump.

 2. The age of information overload.

 3. A population that is "spoiled."  

So, today, let me attempt to show you the ingredients for the destabilization to actually get underway. As you will see, one topic shows up in both conversations. 

The State of Politics:  

My rant on the state of US politics yesterday was based upon my own experiences and my own observations. Today, my comments on political leadership takes on a much broader view. Yes, it's a more expansive view based on my opinions, but that's the purpose of these post right; my opinions? 

What is the most critical issue in US politics, especially at the national level? Did you guess reelection? If you did, then you and I are in agreement. "Get there and stay there." It's an objective that only occasionally is overcome by the desire to "move up"; you know, gain more power. It's not a new phenomenon, but it's one the people in the US are witnessing 24/7/365. Again, the issue of social media and the internet brought about this change. When someone in the US turns on the cable news, all they are going to hear is the bickering between the two political parties. This bickering is amplified by a media network that has become little more than political tools, weapons for both sides. Have you heard anyone say anything good about the Main Stream Media / MSM/ in the past several years? Politics and the media, an out of balance duo that drives the people of the US deeper and deeper into a civil divide.  

Dependency: 

About two months ago, I wrote a post on the status of US cities and the decaying relationship with "flyover country." Here's the link, and if you want more detail on what I am about to say, then I would suggest you read that post. 

http://coldansviewpoint.blogspot.com/2019/08/cities.html?m=1

Modern-day, US major cities. What are they, I mean to the politicians, at least one party of the US  political system? Voting cattle pens. That's what major US cities have become. Places where one party has rounded up votes and kept them alive until they are needed. Voters in these pens/cities/ are feed, provided shelter, and even given medical care. They are expected to accomplish absolutely nothing until the time comes for them to fulfill their usefulness. Does this analogy upset you? Remember, this is all just my opinion, but I bet most of you agree with me, especially after you read my analogy. 

Cities, the largest concentration of voters in the US. The major cities are controlled by one political party in the US, and that is precisely how that party intends to keep it. Independence, that's a concept that one party must keep from spreading in these major cities. The last thing they want is to have the cattle escape into open range!  

What's has been the most effective way for this one particular party to keep their voter base loyal, I mean besides keeping them inside the major cities? Fear! Scare everyone loyal to you that if you lose power, evil will descend upon the world. Before I go further, fear is a tactic of both political parties in the US, but the reality is, one party is far better at the tactic than the other. So, at the end of the day, fear is the primary tool of politics in the US. Whatever happened to patriotism, honor, the gratification of hard work? On the topic of patriotism, I will get back to that issue in this post.   

What percentage of the current US budget is tied up with entitlements? If I told you it was over 70 percent, would you be shocked? Is the word "entitlement" a bad word? No. Are certain people in the US, "entitled" to some level of government funding? Now there is a topic that causes a great deal of heated discussion. In my opinion, yes, some are "entitled," but many may not like my very... concise list of who makes up that group. I don't want to get bogged down on this topic, so let me drive on to the critical issue of entitlement. 

For one party in the US, the concept of entitlement has become a vote capturing bonanza. Now, here is the brilliant part. That same party has learned how to link that political weapon with the other one I mentioned; fear. Combined Arms. It seems one party has mastered the political version of this military concept of warfare. Promise every level of entitlement you can think of and then use the fear booster to make your voter base believe those entitlements would go away if you lose power. In 2019 the issue of entitlements is the gift that just keeps on giving. Santa Glaus is the disguise of one party in the US, a disguise worn by the Cattle Barons! 

What's the issue with the US budget being over seventy percent entitlements? If you guessed funding, you are really with it today. If you have a party that states to its voter base, " I will give you everything you need, deserve, and I will take it from those that have, "too much," whatever that means, what becomes the endstate problem? Yep. You bleed the, "too much" donor to death. Okay, now, when someone believes they are being abused to the point, they may no longer have the ability to live the life they have built, what happens? One of two things takes place. 1. the Donors rise up! Pay attention. This is where this post really gets going. 2. The donors, leave! If one level of donors departs, what does that force the entitlement party to do? Yep, bleed the next level. By the way, every time I hear the expression, " The Rich," I have to ask myself, who does that truly address? I was in a particular hellhole on the other side of the world once, and someone who actually owned a car was considered "evil" because they were "rich." "Rich," it's a relative term! When I was young, I thought someone who owned new care was "rich." Okay, back on track here. If entitlements have become the norm for securing votes in the US, at least for one party, then how does that party control expectations? If I tell you,  I will pay for a place for you to live. I will pay for your healthcare, and I will pay for your meals, then why would you not start expecting more? What's the battle cry now of the spoiled? Pay for my college. More.....more.....more! What happens when the party that promises everything, simply runs out of the ability to provide for that growing list of demands? I'll tell you what happens, it has two choices. 1. Blame someone or some group for the failed increased entitlements. 2, as is the case with the US federal political leaders, simply print more money. Option one doesn't stop the demands of those that party depends on for votes. Even if the fear weapon is used, it still doesn't provide the answer to increased demands. Option two is far less painful and actually becomes the tool of the so-called "compromise" between parties. Here is another ugly reality. Both parties have a common goal at the individual member level. Stay in power! Compromise. It's the word both parties brag about, but at the end of the day, what it really comes down to is a dept that just grows and grows and grows. By the way, who owns a big slice of that debt? Boy, that's a whole different conversation, perhaps down the road someday. What's the glue that holds the US together? It's the same glue that holds any modern nation together. 

The Economy: 

DC is out there, just spinning in its own atmosphere. The soap opera of trying to take out the one true, "outsider," Trump, is the mission now of both parties. The "Swamp." Most people have a mental picture of a small body of water that is often avoided and, thus, ignored. What The Donald never understood was the reality, the "swamp" of DC was more like the Pacific Ocean; you can't get from one place to the other without dealing with the ocean. Did Trump underestimate the size and depth of the "Swamp"? Absolutely. Did he misinterpret who was part of the "Swamp"? That's the issue that has him on his heels. The party of entitlements and the other nation called, DC, is after the one guy who wasn't supposed to be there. Think that statement is exclusive to the Conservatives in the US? Think again. I can tell you, many people in this world quietly see what is taking place in DC as nothing short of a coup. The problem is many support that coup attempt. Does all of this bother the cattle inside the major cities? Only because most perceive The Donald as representing the segment of society that refuses to pay for more entitlements. "They won't give me my fair share." One person's coup is another person's struggle for what they are entitled to. By the way, here is an alarming fact. The party of Cattle Barons is losing power to an internal struggle. Yep, the Cattle Barons are under attack by the free rangers. No borders, no rules,  no authorities; well, with the exception of those who believe in this new, radical slice of the Cattle Baron's party. They will be in charge of the "new order." Remember my comment about entitlements, " where does it all end"? Who is in charge of the nation when anarchy rules? Thank God we are a Republic. Okay, back on track. 

With everything going on in DC, with all the talk of a coup attempt, where is the focus of the typical US citizen? When you flip a switch, the lights come on. When you go to the store, the shelves are full. When you turn on your water, it works. When you use your debit card, the bank responds. Why does all of this happen? How could things appear so horrible, so bleak, yet everything seems to work? I will tell you why it's because of those who get up in the morning and go to work. It's because of those who put on a uniform, military, and civilian and give everything they have. It's because of those who pay the bills/taxes. It's because of those who listen to the childish statements from DC and still do what is expected of them. In other words, it's because those who dream of a better nation, a nation still based on hard work, those who are patriotic enough to keep the nation alive. That's why the nation keeps going forward.........................for now! 

Enough is enough: 

When does that statement become a reality?  What event or events set in motion the wheels coming off the nation? The US has endured a great deal of hardship, but to be honest with you, the difficulties of this nation pale in comparison to other nations. Remember my statement about lights coming on and water running? That's the part of the world I have worked in. Do we have it good here? You bet we do.................for now! 

So, again, what would need to happen to change the stability of the US? Now, that' a serious question given the US's enemies look for that same answers. Is it the economy? Yes. Is it a complete loss of faith in governance? Yes. Could it be the geographics of the US no longer having enough in common to keep the nation together? Remember my statement about the US being a Republic. With all the talk of division in the US, could the nation truly slide into a crisis? Here is the answer this whole blog post is based upon. Yes. Yes, the US can slip into a crisis unlike any it's it's past. Any? Does my opinion include the events of the US's Civil War? Yes. Does that scare you? It should. 

What percentage of the population of the US truly believes one party is attempting a coup against the duly elected President? That's not the way to look at the issue. I just wanted to shape the question that way to let you see the difference. The real question becomes, what percentage of the nation needs to feel as if the country they believe in, the nation they work hard for every day, is in real jeopardy? Let me give you a little history lesson for analysis. 200k people marched on the capital of Egypt and did so for a little over a week before the government fell. In Syria, two cities protested what they believed to be a need for a better life. Look, I could go on and on, but here is my point. The concept of a segment of society standing up against a government they no longer can live with is nothing new. What is new is how the real number of who stands up can be manipulated by a world consumed with mass communications. 

If one segment of the US believes President Trump must go and he doesn't, then what? What if The Donald is not only not Impeached, but reelected? "Pay my College Bills" take to the streets, right? Those that live off of entitlements work on their spelling and hold up a group of posters that show they are upset. Where does this all take place? Yep, in the major cities! Yes, the Cattle begin to riot inside the pens. Who is there to stoke the flames? The US's enemies, that's who. Think about Hong Kong. If the President survives the coup attempt, then what does that hold for the nation's future? Just how violent will things get? Think that's a worrisome scenario? Let me give you one much, much worse. 

What if the people who truly make the nation work, the ones who pay the bills and don't live in the pens, what if they say, "enough"! What percentage of the US population are we talking about? Remember, what percentage does it take? If the cattle inside the political pens rise up, what is impacted? The larger cities? Does anyone remember the Watts Riots? Who paid the price for the destruction? The poor did. The people who live in the pens! What happens when the folks who produce the food, make the products used inside the cities decide, "enough is enough"? What happens when "fly over county" hears the duly elected President, the one true "outsider" is Impeached and removed from power? Don't think it can happen? If so, you have a great deal more confidence in the weak-kneed, survivalist Republicans in the Senate than I do. Oh, did I mention those weak-kneed Senators are part of the "Swamp"?  Do you still think it can't happen? 

Part 3 of this story comes tomorrow, and I've decided to change the name of part 3. I'm now going to call this segment, "What it could look like." I apologize if these first two installments seem a little dark. The bad news is, part 3 is going to make parts 1 and 2 look like Christmas Stories.