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I thought we were done with senseless violence and murder this week, but I guess I was wrong.<\/p>\n
I had just climbed out of the pool. I wanted to get the cardio workout done and out of the way on what promised to be a spectacular edition of gem of a day in July. I wanted to venture down to the farm, pay a call on the new baby who is visiting the Russians, kick back a little before the fun and games of the week commence in the morning.<\/p>\n
Maybe watch a little golf. I returned a call I missed while swimming, lazy and languid. You know, a Sunday morning with nothing urgent except the idea of what is eventually going to constitute dinner, and where the table was likely to be set.<\/p>\n
Some of that may happen any way, but the news from Baton Rouge killed that, and a long dark shadow fell across the otherwise brilliant sun flooding the azure waters of the pool.<\/p>\n
The first reports are of a black-clad shooter near Airline Highway shooting seven police officers, apparently killing three of them. First reports are always chaotic, and normally contain something that is wrong. But I am going to leap to conclusions just like everyone else is.<\/p>\n
There have been large-scale protests in town since the police shooting of Alton Sterling.<\/p>\n
I am not going to wade into the controversy over his death. Anyone\u2019s death, even that of a troubled man with an extensive record of interaction with the police, should be viewed very seriously. As a white male, I brushed up on my procedures to avoid conflict in the event of a traffic stop. Hands on wheel, fingers outstretched, follow guidance from the officer politely.<\/p>\n
Seems like common sense, but that apparently was the first casualty in all this madness.<\/p>\n
There is a group of young males who have killed hundreds on four continents in violent attacks on innocent civilians, most recently including a dozen children celebrating freedom in Nice, France. We know who the perpetrator was. There is no mistake about motive. There is no mistake about the method, either. Use of a heavy vehicle to create this kind of carnage has been widely promoted by the movement on the Internet.<\/p>\n
In parallel, just this week alone there have been eight law enforcement officers shot here in America where anti-police demonstrations were conducted, often with the seeming encouragement of the national justice department.<\/p>\n
Our leaders do not acknowledge that we appear to be in the middle of a shooting war, and it is long past time to take it seriously. It is said that war is a very expensive proposition. The only thing more expensive is losing one.<\/p>\n
I believe that Western Civilization is worth fighting for. It would be a nice gesture if our leaders considered the proposition in the same way. <\/p>\n
I suppose that would require a general consensus on the value of that Western Civilization thing. I am not sure we have one, and that may be the most disturbing part of the whole deal.<\/p>\n
I feel like everything is starting to come unraveled. I used to think it was starting to feel a little like 1968 did, filled with apprehension and dread. I didn’t like it last time, but no one born after 1960 has much of a clue about just how bad it could be.<\/p>\n
That is just part of the problem. The other one is that we can\u2019t even mention what the problem is. That is a poignant example of a civilization that is falling apart.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2016 Vic Socotra
\nwww.vicsocotra.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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