Armageddon is closer than most Americans
realize. Beyond catastrophe lies
mob rule, a doomsday post-democracy, disintegration, collapse, chaos. Americans sucked into the economic abyss
where violence replaces politics.
Joel S. Hirschhorn -- World News Trust
Feb. 11, 2009 -- "I've been through Y2K and
I've been through 9/11. I have
never seen people so afraid as what we are seeing right now,” said gun shop
owner Scott Moss recently.
With more guns per capita -- easily 250 million privately owned
ones -- and certainly more people in prisons than any other democracy, the
intriguing question in this still worsening economic calamity is: If Americans
found the courage for political rebellion now, would it preempt massive criminal
violence, social havoc and armed rebellion later?
What we see President Obama and Congress doing and debating seem
inadequate to restore financial health and security to the vast majority of
Americans before millions more lives are devastated. Billions of tax dollars have gone to
banks, corporations and others but have not stopped the hemorrhage of our
financial lifeblood. More than half
a million jobs continue to be lost a month; 3.5 million in the past year. Millions are losing their homes, health
insurance and ability to buy food.
Those with jobs are afraid to spend money.
As Nobel Prize winning and gloomy economist Paul Krugman said the other
day after condemning what is going on in Washington, DC: “the economy is still in free fall” and we
may be “falling into an economic abyss.”
Harsh words for a harsh reality.
Recently, President Obama said: “A failure to act, and act now, will turn
crisis into a catastrophe.” But
what really matters is exactly what actions the government takes and whether
they are what is needed. Besides,
about the same time, his senior advisor David Axelrod said on television that
“we have an economic catastrophe.”
For most Americans, catastrophe seems more accurate.
Meanwhile, the elite Upper Class that stole the nation’s wealth in recent
years with their greed and political clout, and destroyed the global economic
system, are still sitting pretty in their McMansions, penthouses, private jets
and yachts. They still enjoy their
$50,000+ cars, still wine and dine in incredibly expensive restaurants, and
still retain more wealth than ordinary people can imagine. Brioni men’s suits for $40,000+ are
selling fast.
So what are ordinary Americans doing? Are there massive crowds of screaming,
sign-carrying Americans in city streets from coast to coast? No. Or outside congressional buildings and
the White House? No. Are there riots and looting by hoards of
hungry and angry people who have lost a decent lifestyle? No. Do we see anything like the anti-Vietnam
War protests? No. Do we see anything like the urban riots
after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.? No. Do we see anything like the rebellion
against the British that created our nation? No
What do we see? Millions of people getting notices that
they have lots their jobs, getting eviction notices, applying for bankruptcy,
trying to get unemployment benefits, standing on long lines to get a shot at few
jobs, filling crowded hospital emergency rooms to get medical help, taking their
children out of child care they no longer can afford, and buying fewer and
cheaper foods or seeking free food.
Compared with rioting Europeans, Americans seem like docile, drugged-out
sheep herded towards the economic cliff, mesmerized by melodic rhetoric of
political messiah Barack Obama.
No wonder our politicians look like dithering, confused idiots arguing
among themselves as we continue falling into economic hell. We simply are not demanding enough of
those we elected.
It’s as if most Americans are patiently waiting to be rescued by winning
the lottery. Is it hope or
stupidity?
Meantime, President Obama has successfully stimulated one business
sector. Since November, gun and
ammunition sales have soared, as have requests for concealed carry permits. "Our sales are up 15 percent-20 percent since
October," says the owner of Shooter's Service in Livonia, Michigan. "It's not the 40 percent other
stores are reporting, but it's good business." Oakland County in Michigan issued 130 percent more concealed
carry weapon permits in January than a year earlier. Such permits are up as much as 90
percent in some Western North Carolina
counties. According to the FBI,
background checks for gun sales in January jumped 29 percent over January 2008;
this followed a 24 percent rise in December and a 42 percent increase in
November. In many places gun sales
have dropped because of shortages.
What awaits us when hope becomes futile and all confidence in the
government is lost? Gun owner Chad
Roberts in Tennessee said this recently: "With the
economy like it is more people are going to be desperate wanting to steal from
you.” So, perhaps we will see a
contagious, rapid descent into mass criminal violence. As suffering, gun-toting Americans
resort to looting, theft, robbery, burglary, assaults and other economically
driven violent acts to get what is needed to survive, and other gun owners shoot
to defend what they have. The
fabric of civilized society ripped apart.
Brutal police and military actions result, and for many no police
protection. Constitutional freedoms
suspended in a national emergency.
Government threatened by armed rebellion as gun-toting citizens put their
Second Amendment rights to the ultimate use.
This nightmare scenario may happen because free people waited too long,
remained too hopeful, put too much faith in elections. Armageddon is closer than most Americans
realize. Beyond catastrophe lies
mob rule, a doomsday post-democracy, disintegration, collapse, chaos. Americans sucked into the economic abyss
where violence replaces politics.
Hope will be a distant memory.
One way to avoid the abyss is to give Americans what they have a
constitutional right to have, something the Founders in their wisdom knew we
would need. They provided an option
in Article V of the Constitution that Congress has refused to honor, even though
the one and only requirement has long been met. It is a convention of state delegates to
consider proposals for constitutional amendments. This would provide a national forum for
the public to seriously become involved with possible ways to reform and improve
our government structure. More than 700
applications from state legislatures for an Article V convention have been
submitted from all 50 states; they are being made available for the first time
at foavc.org. Because the
convention can only propose amendments that still must be ratified by
three-quarters of the states there really is nothing to fear about harming our
Constitution. There is now
considerable interest in many states to push for a convention.
In these dismal times using what the Founders gave us makes more sense
than ever before. Americans need
more than two-party politics. They
need a serious debate about structural reforms through constitutional amendments
that can attack the deep rooted corruption and incompetence that plague the
federal government and contributed to creating our current economic
meltdown.
Rather than fear a convention, embrace it. It is far more rational to fear sticking
with our status quo dysfunctional government or, worse, the degeneration into
violent upheaval. Following the
Constitution’s path to get reforms should be preferred.
[Joel S. Hirschhorn is a co-founder of Friends of the Article V
Convention; contact him through delusionaldemocracy.com.]