"Mabye a few more, but no more than our usually freak-out contingent over whatever hot button issue comes along."
Hot button issues are hot button issues. They've always been there; it's just accelerating. We're living in strange times, and there's a lot swirling around out there. I get the sense (in general, not directed at you) that there is a desire to dismiss all the upset as some sort of odd, media-generated creature. I see it as being all interconnected. Blowing it off will be a mistake, and potentially a big one, imho.
I think things are definitely stirring more than usual. The immigration thing is by far the worst; but the Dubai ports fiasco was no walk in the park. Those who think this is just conservatives being inconsolable crybabies are deluding themselves.
Nobody is blowing it off; but it's not as bad as people make it out to be.
The problem is that the ones that push these issues, i.e., immigration or, for instance, Terri Schiavo, don't seem to understand that their strident demands for all to agree turn most people off.
But as I said, FR doesn't reflect anything close to the real world.