Occupy Wall Street

[Husker_x]

[knapplc]

You know, it's funny that you post that about "one ruler" because I've been thinking lately how our current ridiculously dysfunctional government, replete with ridiculous partisan bickering (Congress fiddling while D.C. burns, etc) reminds me SO MUCH of the state of the Roman republic immediately prior to Julius Caesar taking over the Dictatorship. The people were begging him to take over, to invalidate the Senate, and get things moving again.

 

It makes you wonder just how much partisan gridlock people are willing to take before they'd give up their democratic preferences. If we had a brilliant, charismatic, capable option, would America choose to dissolve this political system in favor of what would amount to a king, or an emperor? It would have to get worse than it is now for that to happen, but I don't think it's completely unrealistic.

 

I think the Tea Party and OWS are just two examples of the rapidly growing dissatisfaction in this country. Who knows where it will lead.

[GM_Tood]

Who knows where it will lead.

see 1861–1865 in US History.

[knapplc]

I don't think Americans are willing to take up arms against each other at this point. You sure do have those people who are armed and willing, but they're very much in the minority. I don't think most people see the need to actually revolt - or secede - but they will, I think, allow their republic to crumble around them while they sit in their armchair.

[AR Husker Fan]

I don't think Americans are willing to take up arms against each other at this point. You sure do have those people who are armed and willing, but they're very much in the minority. I don't think most people see the need to actually revolt - or secede - but they will, I think, allow their republic to crumble around them while they sit in their armchair.

You need to drop down to Texas some weekend...

[Lil' Red]

I think the OWS movement has a good point. The disparity in this country is too great and if it continues to increase America is headed down a dark path with some type of disastrous ending. A nation run on greed won't last forever.

[knapplc]

I don't think Americans are willing to take up arms against each other at this point. You sure do have those people who are armed and willing, but they're very much in the minority. I don't think most people see the need to actually revolt - or secede - but they will, I think, allow their republic to crumble around them while they sit in their armchair.

You need to drop down to Texas some weekend...

 

Yeah, but I was talking about Americans, not Texans.

[GM_Tood]

Did somebody say...Revolution?

 

[krill]

I don't think Americans are willing to take up arms against each other at this point. You sure do have those people who are armed and willing, but they're very much in the minority. I don't think most people see the need to actually revolt - or secede - but they will, I think, allow their republic to crumble around them while they sit in their armchair.

 

In the run up to the American Civil War few thought it would actually come to war, and when armed conflict began few thought it would last long.

 

I do often wonder to myself how long our republic will be able to endure a high unemployment rate, ballooning wealth gap, ineffectual congress, and increasingly vitriolic left / right attacks. What would the reaction be if a state like Texas followed through on the rhetoric and had a vote to secede? We came terribly close to that with civil rights, and will be creeping towards it again if Obama is reelected.

 

This is a pretty terrible analogy, but look what's happened with college athletic conferences. All it takes is one domino to drop and before you know it the whole thing flies apart, everyone is in survival mode looking after their own interest, and there's a realization that the ties that bound us were actually quite flimsy when push came to shove.

[zoogs]

We came close to that with the movement to promote civil rights?

[redblooded]

There are no parallels to any modern day thing and the civil war. If worst came to worst you'd see something similar to egypt and the arab spring. There is absolutely no way with all the instruments of war we've built for that to be turned on neighbors and for that to be okay. It's not like Joe Rednecks personal arsenal can stand up to the military now.

 

The civil war didn't have anything but cannons and small arms and the fastest transportation was by ship and train.

 

There will be a lot more pressing issues then then just the disparity between the top incomes and the middle class/poor very very soon. Energy seems like the big one, oil specifically. Gas prices aren't going down ever again. We're hitting, if not already over, the back side of the curve as far as availability and if you watch the video I linked you'd know that with exponential growth means we've already created such demand that new finds like this trans-Canada deal and drilling in the Alaskan preserve won't even buy 10 more years.

[krill]

We came close to that with the movement to promote civil rights?

 

I think so, yes. There was a widespread anti-federalism sentiment in the south during the period of desegregation and the civil rights movement that was not openly expressed as secessionism in politics because it was a box no one dared open. When Perry opened the box he was criticized heavily but not ruined, and as you probably know in politics, once a box is opened it rarely is closed. We're definitely not at the point where there's a serious secessionist movement, but many governors have toyed with the idea of nullifying federal law. So if you think a state like Texas voting to seceded is too far fetched, ask yourself how a weakening President and completely ineffectual congress would handle a nullification crisis.

[74Hunter]

In response to Knapp saying that these ows aren't hurting anything, well if they were peacably assembling, I would agree. However, there have been hundreds of arrests of these protesters, including arrests on charges of rape. Add to that the littering and destruction of property, and the costs of policing, they have been hurting all of us.

 

I haven't heard of such destruction by tea partiers, not on that scale, at least.

[carlfense]

In response to Knapp saying that these ows aren't hurting anything, well if they were peacably assembling, I would agree. However, there have been hundreds of arrests of these protesters, including arrests on charges of rape. Add to that the littering and destruction of property, and the costs of policing, they have been hurting all of us.

 

I haven't heard of such destruction by tea partiers, not on that scale, at least.

Do you have further information about this? If so, I'd like to read it.

[knapplc]

In response to Knapp saying that these ows aren't hurting anything, well if they were peacably assembling, I would agree. However, there have been hundreds of arrests of these protesters, including arrests on charges of rape. Add to that the littering and destruction of property, and the costs of policing, they have been hurting all of us.

 

I haven't heard of such destruction by tea partiers, not on that scale, at least.

 

 

I read all the stories from all the concerned citizens complaining about all the trash the "Occupy Lincoln" people are leaving all over the Mall.

 

Guess what?

 

There is none. None. Anywhere. No trash. Go look.