The 'cold civil war' in the U.S.: The common space required for civil debate...(MARK STEYN)

MacLean's, Toronto, Ontario, Canada ^ | 22 October 2007 | Mark Steyn

[Travis McGee]

And in the end, wheat is reaped or it rots. Great word picture!

[MrB]

The only thing that will bring the left over to sanity will be some sort of massive attack by an outside entity on things they hold dear.

9/11 united the country, or at least shut up the left, for about 2 days.

It will take a rash of muslims beheading the “hedonists”, especially the homos, in order for the left to see a problem.

Then they’ll demand that real men do something.

[FreedomPoster]

Orwell's Homage to Catalonia is instructive. He went and fought with the Spanish Leftists as a starry-eyed Liberal / trade unionist, and barely escaped with his life as the Communists began purging those on the Left who weren't in their clique, as they attempted to consolidate power.

[Pietro]

"..one way or the other"

Not me. If the dems win America as we know it is over. I really hate to paint such a bleak assessment however the left has learned alot in the last eight years will take decisive steps never to lose power again.

[Carbonado]

I know this is serious stuff, but you have to admit listening to CoastToCoast is kind of like watching a bad movie - It may be a bad script and badly acted, but it is still a guilty pleasure.

The real tin-foil-hatters are a hoot.

[Carbonado]

I like it.

How about weeble-wheat?

Weebles wobble but they won’t take a stand.

[alarm rider]

BTTT

[Badeye]

‘Mr. “Ed Funkhouser,” who emailed me twice in the small hours of Tuesday: the first epistle read, in total, “who needs facts indeed. How do you live with yourself, scumbag?” An hour and a half later he realized he’d forgotten to make his devastating assessment of my sexual orientation, and sent a follow-up: “you are a f—kin’ moron. and probably queer too!” ‘

Sounds like the average poster a Liberty Post dot org these days....(chuckle)

Thanks for posting this, its a good read, and food for thought.

[Travis McGee]

By coincidence, I just read Hemingway’s “For WHom the Bell Tolls.” His hero is a lefty, but it’s still an interesting novel.

[Joe Brower]

Y'see, Trav? It's true. "Originality is the art of concealing your sources." $;-)

[papertyger]

Some on both sides fantasize this with the eagerness born of ignorance.

While I fully recognize your qualifier, let us not forget there are also many who are inflamed by a genuine passion for the founding principles of this country, and a desperate longing to return to them.

How many pro-lifers have stayed their hands from the conviction a "just war" would not generate enough public support to be won?

[M Kehoe]

"A cold civil war."

That's exactly what it is.

Not much would it take to turn hot. [I give you 7 Nov. 2000]

5.56mm

[Centurion2000]

Another is the systematic disarmament of the enemies of the Left. Those who think "gun nuts" are the only ones to be concerned about this had better reconsider.

This started the American War of Independence; it will start our first truly civil war in this nation as well.

I really don't count 1860-1865 as a civil war because the southern states were not attempting to overthrow Washington D.C. They were just attempting to secede from the United States. There is a difference that not too many people think about.

[papertyger]

Yes, it's happening on both sides. When, at the end of the carnage, someone asks "Why?", remind them that the answer was "because of largely trivial differences."

Is this comment not itself a subtle form of "demonization of ... opponents, and reasonable discussion ... rejected?"

Ignorance is no defense for the unjust application of force under the color of authority. Those who presume to invalidate natural law should suffer the consequences of what they inflict to enforce that presumption.

[okie01]

Not much would it take to turn hot. [I give you 7 Nov. 2000]

I'd caution the left not to get too unruly.

We've got the guns...

[papertyger]

I'd caution the left not to get too unruly. We've got the guns...

Who would we have shot at if they had actually got away with stealing the election in 2000?

I submit things would have been different if the media had blacked out all the floridian outrage and allowed some democrat to declare Gore won the recount.

[Billthedrill]

Public support for gun control has dropped a great deal in the same period.

Apologies for a late reply. You are entirely correct, of course. But that support is subject to manipulation in the media and tends to fall rapidly during hysteria campaigns, the pattern seen in Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. And an activist Democratic administration with a majority of both Houses will most certainly put gun control firmly back on the public agenda with strident support from sympathatic urban media.

It isn't a trend, it's a warning sign, something to watch for. McGee wrote a couple of novels around it.

[exit82]

Good take on Bilbo. That’s why he needed the Hildebeast to run interference for him and keep him in the reins of power. She is far more dangerous.

Thanks for sharing your insight.

[exit82]

I agree with your comment about how important it is to free people to care about moral issues.

And you described NJ to a “T”. How true.

Debt as a new form of slavery is an interesting thought. Two of my three adult children have freedom, but one, alas, is in its grip and will be longtime before he is free like his siblings.

Wrong choices have long consequences.

[exit82]

You know, it is hard to believe that the other side is capable of doing these things, but they are.

I always wondered how Germany, a highly technical and educated society, could descend into the barbarism of Nazism in the 1930s.

Now I don’t wonder so much.