I received this from a good friend of mine, who is also a proud veteran. He gave me permission to reprint this, and I couldn't agree more.

Subject: I can see it happening

In seeing all that’s on the news (and of course taking all of it with a grain of salt) I can see patterns moving in new and interesting ways.

I’ll first qualify this as being the ranting of a citizen who is mightily fed up. I understand the citizens of the United States are guaranteed the right to protest and the right to free speech. It seems to me however that those same freedoms may lead to destroying themselves. I’ll explain. If you insight enough people you could create a situation which would destroy the same society that gave you the right to insight. I hope I said that correctly. I am a bit tired, so I apologize.

I’m not so ticked off at all the stuff going on these days with the flag and flying it under the Mexican flag or flying it upside down. That in itself doesn’t upset me since I believe more in what the flag represents and not for the actual fabric. I’m not so upset at all the protests by citizens about immigration laws, or any laws for that matter. They have the right and I fought for their right to do it. No big deal to me.

I am wondering how those who aren’t citizens can protest in our streets? I can’t see a way to do anything about it, but I’m very curious how this can be seen as alright. I understand that this problem has grown so large and has been overlooked for so long that there is no easy answer to it. Better women and men than I who are closer to the situation are working the problem, so I’ll stay out of it. I will say that if anyone outside my family or circle of friends came into my house and told me that they didn’t like how I was keeping my house, I would invite them to leave…loudly and physically. But that situation would be easier to fix than the larger situation that’s going on right now.

I simply see all of these things as an indicator of a larger problem.

I am seeing the coasts becoming separate entities, while the more conservative portions of our society pulling into the heartland and fortifying. I’ve given up on blaming anyone. You can blame the press for blowing certain things out of proportion, or to be more accurate losing any sense of proportion. But we listen to the journalists and consider them knowledgeable entities. You can blame the government for losing sight of what’s important and ignoring factors that should have been addressed years ago, but we voted them into office.

I blame myself usually. I and everyone else in this society have become quite comfortable in my short span on earth living in this society. We really do want for nothing. At least nothing that’s really and truly important. After seeing just how low human society can go and still function, I now see that we really and truly are a decadent society. People are driving around not realizing that there is a world outside of their car or that the car they are in is a luxury and not a human right. Some people are demanding food and shelter and money from the government, but are not willing to work for it. Nothing is our fault. No one takes responsibility for their own actions, we all just like to blame this entity we call “society” or “government” for all the problems we have and forget that these entities are made up of human beings just like everyone else.

Please stop yelling at me. I do really and truly love this country and can’t see being anywhere else. These are observations and most likely have plenty of holes in them. Most of my arguments have holes in them anyway. If they didn’t, that would make me right and then the world would stop spinning on its axis. Can’t have that. ;-)

I once wrote a paper on the checks and balances of a society and created a model of what I thought society should be. It started and ended with the individual while going all the way up to the world as a whole and then returning to the individual:

The individual is made responsible for his or herself (like that will ever happen). This means that people really and truly make themselves responsible for their own actions and do not blame their upbringing or the spouse that they chose to marry or the representative that they voted into office or the police officer that they lied to, etc.

They in turn are checked up on by the family as a unit. The family is checked up on by the local unit or neighborhood. Each neighborhood is responsible for itself and its members. That is check up on by the local government, made up of representatives of the each neighborhood and not by professional legislators. Each local government is represented in turn in the state government and the states are represented in the national. The nations are represented in a world government which in turn is checked up on by the individuals.

This would never work and I felt silly for ever suggesting it. It has been tried again and again in varying degrees and configurations, but after the local government level (and sometimes at the local level) the people are forgotten since the higher levels lose track of the individuals and the individuals lose touch with the government. It’s also incredibly tedious and nothing gets done.

The biggest reason that this doesn’t work is that first and foremost the individuals are supposed to be responsible for themselves and held accountable for the actions of their representatives. This simply will not happen. Sad to say that we will always be a part of the “S.E.P.” society. Somebody Else’s Problem.

I can see that in the not too distant future we will segregate into smaller sections and fortify each area against each other. All thanks to our own paranoia and selfishness. Those people who stick their neck out for their fellow citizen are taken advantage of by another citizen who is out just for themselves. We have become perfect fodder for terrorism. The saddest part is that it’s not the terrorists from outside the U.S. that I’m worried about. Our biggest enemies are already here. Us. Each and every one of us is helping to rip the country apart. Who knows? Maybe it’s time for this kind of wakeup call. You be the judge.

Myself? I remain a proud member of the U.S. armed forces and support those appointed above me and the troops with me and under me. I love my country and will do everything I can to serve proudly. As a member of this great group of individuals I am resigned to live amongst those whom I serve and yet not truly a part of the general citizenry. Just like police officers and firefighters, we serve the people and live with the people, but are just outside the society we protect. Sad to say that we are the dogs protecting the sheep from the wolves…even when the sheep don’t seem to want to need us.

There! I’m done with my whining for the evening. Feel free to discuss!

Love to all,

Patrick