(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . America's 21st Century Snit - A Hissy Fit For The Ages [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-03 The Monster has left the castle... Sometimes in more lucid moments, I allow myself to look beyond the normalcy of what used to pass for the banal and idiotic, and assess just how some components of daily living have become so easily infused into the culture without realizing the context. As I surveyed the news online the other day, something about it became apparent to me that had previously gone unnoticed: literally EVERYTHING I read that morning was written with a pugilistic bent or directly caged in language suggesting life-or-death competition… “Trump At War With Desantis, The FBI, The Justice Department, President Biden and Democracy”, “Desantis At War With Disney”, “Putin At War With Ukraine, NATO, Western Europe, America (And Probably Canada)”, “Republicans At War With The Latest Democratic Legislation And Vow to Hold The Country Hostage On The Budget”, “The Republicans Target Gays, Drag Queens and Transgender Children”… and it wasn’t limited to the headlines, either: the sports section was equally combative. “The Pittsburgh Pudnockers Destroyed the Austin Apehangers 38-6 In The Midwestern Tiddlywinks Finals”, or “the Seattle Studmuffins BEAT The Framingham Faeiries 7-6 In Overtime”. It appears that the words “defeated”, “bested”, “prevailed” or “championed” are now apparently too “woke” for media reporters, and all that does is reveal how clandestine anger and violent thinking has permeated this country’ culture. (It should be here noted that there wasn’t one single bit of otherwise useful information on the entire damned news site… ANYWHERE.) All of this, of course, is likely symptomatic of the country’s sour mood. And from whence did said sour mood emanate? I asked that question of myself over a snifter of Courvoisier and the answer came to me as its warmth began to caress my insides… I remember this incident like it was yesterday: it was mid-November of 1974- I’d just passed my one year anniversary of being assigned to the U.S. Naval Facility on Barbados, and I was enjoying a delightful late afternoon lunch in Bridgetown with one of the lovely Bajan assistants to the U.S. embassy. The date was proceeding very nicely with peas and rice, ice cold Mauby and pleasant conversation outside in the warm Caribbean sun … that is, until she put me in a very awkward position: the conversation turned to current events in America. Ford had pardoned Nixon back in September, and although his having done so disgusted me to the point of pissing me off, I nevertheless was under strict orders to never discuss political matters with any in-country citizens. My date who was obviously extremely well-read with a good education asked, “I’m a bit confused about your country’s system of justice. President Nixon obviously committed a crime that demanded accountability and punishment for dishonoring his high office, and yet his appointed successor has given him a full pardon. As I understand this, it means that he can’t be tried for the crime he committed in the future. Yet, we were taught here in school that in America, no citizen is above the law. What has changed in America?” As a 23 year-old Petty Officer and member of the armed forces of the United States of America, that question was officially off limits to me; all I could legally do was smile and diplomatically change the subject as adroitly as possible- although had I answered it as truthfully as I’d wanted and my response got back to the embassy and my commanding officer, I’d still be making little ones out of big ones in Leavenworth. At least Dr. Hunter S. Thompson got to say what I was feeling about the matter... So here we are, some 49 years later and although mitigating circumstances are vastly different now, there exists the very real possibility that although Trump’s crimes are far more serious and seditious, the politics and the mood of the country may once again interfere with his being held to account and serving punishment for his crimes. That in and of itself is a horrific testament to the decline of this country’s respect for the rule of law, even though a great deal of lip service is given to law enforcement. I am no longer in a foreign country (although at times it sure feels like it), and I’m no longer beholden to the U.C.M.J. and the trappings of military decorum. Near as I can tell, the answer I wanted to give that young lady so many years ago hasn’t changed one single bit: at some point during the closing months of the Vietnam war and the Watergate hearings, America selectively abandoned the concept of “Equal Justice Under The Law” - even for the financial elite and powerful politicians. In spite of the extreme efforts that the Founders went to ensure that this country would never again be ruled by magistrate, a large percentage of the people then decided to anoint one through cult fetishism because they fear that their justice system has failed them and their “traditional values” are slipping away in advance of both change and modernization. Under such pretense, it’s understandable how people could be in such a foul mood; however they fail to understand that historically, fear and anger are the passports to fascism. They’ve had it backwards for 30 years, from Gingrich’s “Contract With America” and the Tea Party movement to the present day vulgarity of militias, Klanners and angry right wing gunsels: Instead of the government having failed the people, the people have failed their government and, in doing so, failed themselves. 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