America’s Meltdown – Would Tough Love Help?
It's 2020 and peaceful protests have devolved into brick throwing, spray painting, window breaking lighting fires, police injuring, tear gas infused riots in a number of our great American cities including Portland and Seattle. Out of control lawlessness, vandalism, violence and theft have replaced the singing of "we shall overcome" from the 1960's.
What makes these demonstrations so different from the '60's is the enabling reactions of local politicians. Governors, Mayors, City Council members all seem to condone the chaos being conducted under their watch.
In fact, many in the most troubled cities have refused federal help and are even going to court to remove federal officers from their cities.
To that point, here are the headlines from today's on line Oregonian newspaper (7/21/20)
Many in conservative America are in favor of greater government intervention to restore law and order to liberal land, but there is something to keep in mind.
The government is not the parent and the cities and states are not the children. The 10th Amendment and State's Rights mean if the locals want to go loco, there is little the federal government can do about it. The president has said he could send in federal resources to regain control if local officials don't...but I think he should consider Plan Dave instead.
Plan Dave IS something that some frustrated parents are forced to implement with their own children when nothing else has worked.
Plan Dave is a heaping helping of TOUGH LOVE.
Tough Love is defined as: promotion of a person's welfare, especially that of an addict, child, or criminal, by enforcing certain constraints on them, or requiring them to take responsibility for their actions.
Right now protesters are addicted to seizing power they haven't earned, recklessly pursuing socialism with a childlike naivete and accepting outright criminal behavior by some members. They have broken the social contract - "the implicit agreement among the members of a society to cooperate for social benefits, for example by sacrificing some individual freedom for state protection"- and are supported by local politicians in the process.
Tough love is all about promoting the general welfare (sounds familiar) by making people responsible for funding their own support systems and requiring them to live with the consequences of their own choices and behavior.
It would work like this. Seattle, Portland, Chicago Et al., you will be left to determine your own outcome but KNOW THIS - There will be NO federal money spent to rebuild or repair anything you destroy. You want to riot? Go for it. You want to start fires? Why not. You want to eliminate the police? Head 'em up and move 'em out! You want to overthrow the current systems? Give it your best shot.
If your ideas are sound and your message is right, you will succeed. We'll call it "1776" 2-point-0. If not, if your message rings hollow and your actions have passed the point of annoyance and offense, then it wont' take federal forces to shut you down. At some point, your neighbors and fed up fellow citizens will have had enough and they will rise up and shut you down. We'll call that "1865" 2-point-0. Maybe then you'll even want the feds to come in, not to protect federal buildings but to protect you from all those who have come to see that the hard left isn't right for America.
We are supposed to be the UNITED States of America but forcing participation in that union will only bring resentment and rebellion. Tough love will give BLM/Antifa/Radical Socialists/Communist/Anarchists/Criminal opportunists the time and freedom to self destruct -- if they so choose. It will also give local residents the time to get angry and frustrated enough to get organized and vote out the political enablers and send a message that aggressive, violent, activists are no longer welcome and will not be sheltered -- if they so choose. If a conflict comes I suggest that it's better to be put down at the polls than on the street...but that's up to the activists.
We love Portland and we love Seattle. But for now, it needs to be a Tough Love from a distance. Back on June 20th at a rally, President Trump said maybe it would be best to back off and let America have a chance to really see the radical left in action.
Tough Love.
I think he's right.
More From News Talk KIT
