The question is what might turn this into a "Hot" civil war? Despite the common fantasy on the fringes of the Left very few in the entire world are being assaulted for attempting to turn their respective governments toward world socialism, but quite a few are being assaulted by their respective governments simply for hoping for some sort of democracy. One might have thought that this fits into the "progressive" paradigm, and one would have been mistaken - these movements are, broadly, abandoned and even cursed by "progressives." I cite Burma, China, Tibet, Iraq, Iran, Zimbabwe, and Cuba as examples. That list isn't exhaustive by far.
What we have here is a blatant abandonment of principle in favor of faction, politics in its most primitive, unthinking, tribal form. One of the things that makes it primitive is its proclivity for violence. We see this today in the identity of who gets shouted down on campus - left or right? Who gets their tires slashed at election time, their cars keyed, their signs stolen, left or right? And so the answer to the question of what might turn this into a "Hot" civil war is, I am afraid, the mere ability of the violent Left to get away with it.
I can think of several things that might encourage that. One, with us already, is the willingness of clearly partisan media to ignore or excuse acts of violence on the part of those whose cause they tend to view sympathetically. 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. Another still is the encouragement of violence by proxy in the form of inflaming sundry grievances on the part of the resentful. Yet another, and perhaps most dangerous of all, is the capture or subversion of state resources toward political violence that is disguised as enforcement of legitimate authority.
It is that last that concerns me the most. When politics at the national level is as tribal as some on the Left appear today we have the very real possibility of turning this "Cold" civil war into a "Hot" one. And inasmuch as the Left has displayed a consistent tendency to presage its acts by accusations toward the Right, one can readily imagine that those who desperately fantasize about a BushCo police state might not flinch at establishing a real one of their own. Those who cannot or choose not to differentiate between their own paranoid imaginings and legitimate abuse are more than capable of the latter.
The Jews found out about all of this in Nazi Germany - systematically divorced from political representation, systematically disarmed, hostile media giving moral sanction to systematic violence against them, and finally systematically murdered by a people so morally confused by then that it seemed justifiable. I invoke the "system" repeatedly here because no one in it bore personal responsibility until it was thrust back upon them at Nuremburg. It was a thoroughly evil fantasy world that manifested itself in the real one. It could happen here.
If it ever does, the resulting Hot Civil War would end up violent beyond imagination. Some on both sides fantasize this with the eagerness born of ignorance. In the comic books the blood is only red ink. In the movies, corn syrup. In the real world, it's blood.
All IMHO and subject to debate as always, of course.
Well put. I've seen an awful lot of this on this very site.
I'm sure there are plans to accomplish this, but public opinion and actual policies in recent decades have mostly moved in the other direction.
Concealed carry "shall issue" is now legal in the vast majority of states. 20 years ago Florida was the first state to adopt this policy.
Public support for gun control has dropped a great deal in the same period.
Don’t miss post 11. Gibson is behind the curve.
Excellent and profound post.
I saw a poster on DU this morning calling out his fellow DU'ers for hating people he didn't know (in reference to some of them wishing for parts of California to burn to the ground because they hate the rich).
Everyone on the thread chimed in and said that no one who would do such a thing should call themselves a Democrat. I wanted to sign up, knowing I would be immediately banned, and say "I'm a Republican that you don't know - do you hate me?".
Their closed minded thinking and hypocrisy are incredible, and incredibly dangerous.
Most would look at your comments about the Jews in Nazi Germany, roll their eyes and move on, but you are absolutely correct in your analysis of that situation. I've had the same thoughts myself.
Look at my tag line, then go look at the website. If "progressives" held the reins of power tightly enough I am convinced they would systematically eliminate conservatives because we stand in the way of "progress". It's been the rationale of genocidal monsters throughout history.
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?
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.
Agreed, the left is in full "Lord of the Flies" mode. It's worth noting, too, that the Democrats' recapture of a majority in Congress has not halted this trend. Quite the opposite, in fact - they've grown ever more shrill. A few election cycles ago, I worried that a Democrat victory would bring about an insufferable leftist gloat-fest; now I think there's something considerably darker in the offing.
Interesting; and interesting to note that the Clintoons are very cozy with the Chinese, if you catch my drift. I’ve long pondered the question of whether or not it might be worse for us if the Dems lose in ‘08, particularly if by a slender margin? By that I mean that I’m concerned we’ll see an outbreak of civil disorder in the form of mass killings particularly of whites which is why we’ve purchased property far from any large city. We can’t help but notice that the gov’t and particularly a Democrat lead gov’t wouldn’t break it’s neck to save the lives of whites. When whites were attacked in the Cincinnati riots they called it “Acceptable Venting.” There may well be a hot civil war here, but I for one won’t be sticking around for it.
We may see the Civil War start in Europe, as they are closer to the point where those who work will no longer be able to support those who won't.
The fall of a welfare state tends to be messy and violent, as those who have an entitlement mentality become enraged when reality intrudes
More than one historian of the 1790s has speculated that if the “Republicans” had not won that there would have been civil war. The tie between Burr and Jefferson certainly dampened any revolutionary ardor, as it required Federalist aid to tip the balance. Wonder what Jefferson—as devious a politician as ever practiced the trade—really thought when he found out that Burr had double-crossed him?
Yet another example of why it always pays to read the responses in a Mark Steyn thread.
“The question is what might turn this into a “Hot” civil war?.....”
IMHO....the pending inability to deliver on the entitlement benefits promised by the welfare state...in the face of a falling dollar. Ya need an economic trigger...as the North in 1860 started to actively interfere with the export trade of the South....