I beileve that we have seen the end of this country, as we knew it. Now, someone might say that things change, get over it, all things come out as they should, yadda, yadda, yadda. But I can't help but feel that this change is not for the best; it is the result of the (some would say systematic) dumbing down of...well, of civilization in general, but certainly of this country in particular.

Moreover, I believe that I, and many others like me, have become more than just alienated; we are actively unwelcome in our own country. This wouldn't be the first time...we weren't welcome in the late '60s and early '70s either. But then, at least, there were two things present that are not present now: 1) We all believed that the system was just, and that with some prodding and a bit of penetrating oil, it would self-correct; and that 2) we were all Americans, and we all shared the same core values and feeling of protectivity (if there is such a word) for our country. You know, sorta like, I can beat up my little brother all I want...call him names, and generally just make his life hell within the confines of the family...but if anybody else wants to mess with my little brother, he's gonna hafta deal with me! In the 70's, Nixon was the target of a similar love-hate relationship (we loved to hate him, and the rednecks just loved him), but love him or hate him we all still felt that we were Americans, and we'd deal with our recalcitrant little brother in due time. (And, of course, we did.)

Now, however, the thread that we're all Americans is just...gone. As I stated in [link|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=182444|this post], the majority of Americans (who voted, and given the depth of the turnout, one could extrapolate the results to the entire populace) appear to have a completely different set of core values. These new values are restrictive, punitive, and just plain mean-spirited. The New American Taliban, all to happy to tsk-tsk and tell me how I should...no, must live my life, and evemore arrogantly, how I am to feel about that.

Well, guess what? I've still got enough of the spirit of the 70's in me to invoke Dick Cheney's famous battle cry back to the faces of this new Taliban. But I'm also 30 years older now. Things have changed, and I'm just not as eager to put that chip back on my shoulder just one more time. Certainly, I'm not as willing to go it alone. What I need, is to see others also willing to put the chip back on their shoulder. To see young people put down their Nintendos and X-boxes, and study...something...anything relevant. God, would I love to hear a twentysomething quote anything from Thomas Jefferson, or Thomas Payne, even if I were to disagree with it. I need to see Seniors stand up, and publicly enumerate the parallels between what's happening here and what happend in 1939. What I need to see is somebody, then somebody else, then a group of somebodies, then another group, then several groups stand up and be counted among those who are not afraid to say the Emperor has no clothes, has never clothes, and to get the fsck off my damn lawn!

Were that to happen, it may lead to a civil war. So be it. The Second American Civil War will be a bloody affair, and will quite likely result in a new map. Is this country worth fighting for? In my opinion, no. Is the Constitution of the United States worth fighting for? You're damn right it is, in a New York minute! And if you (not you, Rand...but the collective 'you') don't see the difference, then you, too, get the fsck off my damn lawn!