Prediction...Americans will become more aware of how unique and precious our national heritage is. Freedom, liberty and peace will cease to be abstract, arcane concepts.
Observation...I was in an insurance industry meeting today in Florida. Many insurance companies are pulling out of expansion and growth strategies. Major insurance companies dropping major lines of insurance as a direct result of 9-11.
All of a sudden we live in an environment where troops are now on patrol on our streets, in our airports and other public settings. You can't attend a large public event without having your belongings rifled and the possibly the indignant body search.
There are calls to develop a national I.D. card. When it can be facilitated our rights to own weapons will be taken away. The incroachment of incredibly invasive snoopers will excellerate. For very little reason at all we are all going to be suspects. Make one false move and you're in for a real joy ride.
The police state is upon us. Rent a Ryder truck to move your belongings and you stand a very real chance of being pulled over to the side of the road by a squad in riot gear with weapons reserved for war zones. Oh yes, you now live in one.
OBL has been quite successful. Every nervous Nellie or Chicken Little will be dialing 911 on a whim. Those that don't get hung up on will incite activity that will see their neighbors rousted hundreds of times for every single good lead they provide. Sooner or later you will be the victim of this.
Your banking, finance, personal information, credit histories, businesses you deal with, internet sites you frequent, comments you make and literature you read will become the interest of the government.
Your neighbors will spy on you. Note that I didn't say they might spy on you. They will spy on you. The government will urge them to do so. Every little inconsequential thing that you do, will someday seem very significant when someone looks at your profile.
You like to visit FreeRepublic. You are categorized as a semi-fanatic because you stay in tune with world events. You purchase several guns and then your an armed semi-fanatic with and "arsenal." You go to the range and shoot your gun and you're an armed semi-fanatic with an aresenal that's stockpiling ammo. One of your neighbors doesn't like how you look one day and they see you place a long object in the trunk of your car and they make the call.
Cars are dispatched to your residence and you are grilled. On some database it says you had a minor run in with the law twenty years ago. Immediately your suspect. You attended John Birch Society meetings. You protested on the streets. Your picture was taken in a crowd in front of the White House. You wrote a steamy letter to a government official because he voted to curb second ammendment rights.
I don't like where we're headed. We should avoid what's happening at all cost. The military does not need to be on our streets.
Folks, we're in panic mode, or at least our leaders are. The police are capable of handling almost all of what is happening on our streets.
US Citizens have become suspect number one. Foreign nationals are considered good for our nation. They are above reproach. They don't even have to paper to be here.
As I said, OBL has been quite successful.
I further predict the new version of "Survivor" will pick up that lost "share", and replace anthrax as the water-cooler topic of choice.
It's a fact that almost every time we got caught with our pance down we have cut down on military and intelligence spending. It's odd that one of the few expenditures allowed by The Constitution is for national defense, but there is where we cut back. I think we will win this one, but it won't be bloodless.